Not as Opposite as We Thought
by i-read-and-judge
Summary: Meet Haley, the spunky bookworm who moved to Forks. She never interested a boy before so why is that insanely tall Quileute guy staring at her? What will she make of life now that it seems like she's stepped inside one of her books? Seth/o.c.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first ever fanfiction. I've decided that since I'm already wasting my life away reading Twilight fanfics (to the point where some of my friends are getting worried about me), I might as well contribute one. Tell me please whether or not I should continue it. I'm a decent writer as long as I know what I'm writing about, so if anyone has any plot ideas, feel free to suggest them in a review. This Seth/o.c. type fanfic is way overdone but I figured you could never get enough of Seth! Enjoy.**

Not as Opposite as We Thought

I was jolted out of my deep sleep by the sudden stop of the car. As I blinked my eyes, trying to adjust them, I saw that we were at a gas station. Great, and I'd thought we'd arrived already.

My family, all six of us, were moving from one miniscule small town on the northern east coast, to one on the northern west coat. If we had to move, which I was strongly against in the first place, I wished it could've been to some place more exciting. Forks, Washington wasn't exactly the most exciting place in the world. I'd never heard of it until my dad was offered this job.

I noticed the steady drip of rain on the car roof. Well maybe we're getting close. Being the geek that I was, I had researched the area to find out everything I could about our future home. It turns out that the North Pacific Rainforest gets more rain than any other place in the country. Great, and I got sick of rain just living in Massachusetts.

Everyone else in the car was asleep. Everyone but the dang cats. If you think it's fun driving cross-country with three younger siblings, try doing it with two loudly meowing cats. Add in a Maltese with gas problems and you've got some real fun. Even if I wasn't the most willing participant in this move, I was still eager to get out of the car.

My dad reentered the vehicle carrying an enormous cup of coffee, a large bag of chips, and the pungent smell of gasoline. I reached over, past my ten-year-old brother Dan, and tapped him on the shoulder.

"How much farther until we get there?" I asked in a whisper.

"What're you doing up so late?" he said. I glanced at the digital clock in the car. It was almost three in the morning.

"I just woke up," I said, "I didn't try to stay up or anything."

"We'll be there in less than an hour Haley. Be patient."

"Time estimate?" I asked. My dad was amazingly good at predicting the times we would arrive at certain places. He often was correct, even to the very minute. I always thought that maybe he had a GPS inside his head, a trait I had unfortunately not inherited. I was geographically disabled, not a good thing as I was to learn to drive soon.

"Three fifty, now try to go back to sleep."

"Easy enough for you to say," I mumbled under my breath. It was hard enough for me to fall asleep sitting upright in a moving car. To try to do so again while I was alert (if only temporarily) would be borderline impossible.

I dug through my small bag, trying to find my book-light and a book to read. That would help pass the time if anything would. I was a bookworm, to use the commonly used name. I never figured out what worms had to do with reading excessively. I never went anywhere without a book tucked under my arm or in a bag. I plowed through books. Nothing was better at holding my attention for long periods of time. It seemed only natural that I would be reading now.

Before I knew it, I was being yanked out of my own little world by the car stopping once again. I attempted, with some difficulty, to look out the window that would be my home for a while at the very least. It was no use. The clouds, rain, and general darkness made seeing a few feet away from the window a challenge now that the headlights were out.

"We're here!" announced my dad, sounding much too perky for a man who had just been driving for hours on end. He always did like to travel at night so that the car was quieter. Any car trips we'd gone on before had been much shorter than this one, usually only about five hours at most.

My mom groaned. She did not share my father's apparent love for driving at night. She blinked groggily and sat up. She looked remarkably like me; everyone said so. Same dark hair, green eyes, and freckles.

My parents stepped out of the car, walked around to the doors of the second row of seats, and started trying to wake my brothers, Chris (thirteen) and Dan (ten). I remained trapped behind them, unable to get out unless I wanted to squash one of my brothers. That wouldn't have been overly tragic, actually, it certainly would've gotten them moving faster, but the parents were present and I didn't feel like getting grounded before I even had anywhere to go.

I occupied myself with trying to shake my little sister, Sophie awake. She was also thirteen, Chris's twin, two and a half years younger than my fifteen, but I was three years ahead of her in school. She was easier than either of the boys to wake up, and she was soon waiting impatiently for the two of them to crawl at their snail's pace out of our way.

They made their way out at last, and dad led us into the house, flipping the switch on as he did so.

"Boys, you share a room. Girls, I know you didn't share one at our old house but there aren't enough bedrooms for anyone to have their own room," he announced.

I sighed. Sophie was okay in small doses, but she stole a lot of my stuff even without sharing a room with me. God only knows how much she could make away with now that I could no longer insist that she get out of my room.

Together, Sophie and I walked past our practically asleep brothers, claimed the larger room, and collapsed on top of the unmade beds.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of rain on the roof. I'd have to get used to it. It seems like it would happen more often than not in this rainy town.

I put on my glasses and walked over to the window in order to get my first real view of my surroundings. There were trees everywhere. I was used to this, I'd grown up in New England, after all. The trees were different there; they were deciduous and turned all sorts of beautiful colors in the fall. Here, there were more pine trees; I had no idea what kind. I was not exactly a nature person. I always chose to stay inside and read.

"Haley, you awake?" asked Sophie, popping her head inside the door. Typical, she's always up before me. I sleep in a lot. It's the teenager's prerogative.

"Obviously," I said sarcastically.

"Whatever, just come down for breakfast soon," she replied. I followed her out and into the unfamiliar kitchen. My mom and dad were standing at the counter, drinking coffee by the bucket. I grabbed the cereal, filled a bowl, and sat down. I allowed myself to space out while eating, so I didn't notice when my mom started talking to me.

"Haley. Haley. Earth to Haley," she was waving her palm in front of my face. "It's still August so school starts next week. I have your schedule. They mailed it once we enrolled you. Would you like to shop for school supplies later?"

"Sure Mom," I said after swallowing my cereal, "Sounds like fun."

I went off after I had finished breakfast to take a shower and get dressed. I grabbed my book and started reading. I had only read a few pages when the doorbell rang. Sighing in my best martyr fashion, I got up to answer it.

Standing on the other side of the door was a teenage boy about my age. He was rather dark complexioned, and looked like he might be of Hispanic descent. His shaggy brown hair hung almost to his shoulders and he stood at approximately average height, several inches taller than my 5'5". It was his clothes, however that made me stare. He was dressed in tight, skinny jeans (and that trend looked bad enough on girls!) with a pink hoody sweatshirt and a beaded necklace.

"Hi," he said, "I'm Mason and I live across the street. My mom sent me over here with this casserole."

"Oh, um thanks," I blurted out, just as my dad came by. He frowned at the boy. My dad had a thing about allowing boys near his daughters. I didn't see why this would apply to Mason, though. I thought it more than obvious that the kid was gay. Also, my dad had no reason to go around glaring at boys in general. I'd never gone out on a date. I was much too geeky for that. Guys never seemed to like me much. I was kind of plain and wasn't exactly skinny. Not that I was fat or anything, but I was larger than the average girl my age, even though I was mostly muscle.

"Dad, this is our new neighbor, Mason. He just came by with a casserole from his mother."

"Yeah, I think I have to go now anyway," he said with a grin, "See you around. What grade are you going into?"

"Tenth," I said, eager to get back to my book.

"Me too!" Mason said, "See you at school then." He then turned around and walked away. I handed the casserole to my father and escaped back into my own world, where I was a completely different person.

The rest of the week passed similarly, with me reading, us unpacking the rest of our things, and back to school shopping, which was a terrifying experience. Chris and Dan took out the entire pencil sharpener display when they started fighting and Sophie started dancing around, saying "Look Haley!" every time she did some sort of dance move she learned back at the ballet studio at home. Since I'd quit dance back in elementary school when I discovered that I was hopeless at it, I honestly couldn't care less about it.

I woke up early for school on that first day, groaning and rolling over in bed. I was not yet used to getting up at six a.m. Honestly, I really never did, getting up out of bed was a drag for me no matter what.

My mother passed around the bowls for cereal and then drove us up to the three different buildings, Forks High, Forks Junior High, and Forks Elementary School. I was dropped off first because I insisted that I didn't need her to accompany me in. It would be bad enough being the new kid without being escorted in by your mother.

I made my way to the secretary, after almost getting lost and having to ask a petite blonde for help. I walked up to the desk and waited timidly for her to notice me. I wasn't very good with strangers.

"Hi, I'm Haley Adams. I'm new here." Way to state the obvious.

"Oh, hello I'm Mrs. Cope. We haven't had any new students in a while. Just give this slip to each of your teachers and have them sign it."

"Thank you," I said. I already had my schedule, now all I needed to do was find the building without getting lost, surely an easy feat for anyone but me, the geographically challenged one. I left and started wandering around, looking for my Chemistry classroom.

"Hey new girl!" called someone from behind me. I turned around and saw Mason and sighed with relief. It was nice to know someone, even to barely know someone, when you're new.

"I never got your name. I'm Mason if you don't remember," he grinned. I smiled; Mason wasn't exactly easy to forget, even if half of the neighborhood did come around with food.

"I'm Haley," I stopped to let him catch up, "Do you happen to know where my Chemistry class is?"

"I have that next too!" he was looking very enthusiastic, "You could just follow me." Relieved, I set off behind him, wishing he could go a little faster so that I could get out of this rain.

I walked into the class, thankfully not late, and gave the teacher the slip to sign. She then sent me back into the group of students to wait for seats to be assigned. Assigned seats! What were we, in third grade? Did she think we were going to throw spitballs at the whiteboard or something? I was seated next to a tall, redheaded girl who introduced herself at once. I forgot it almost immediately, too. I could never remember names when I was under stress and I was under a lot of stress at the moment.

I was able to find the rest of my classes by asking random passers by for directions. They all seemed to blend together in my mind, except for Spanish, which stood out in a very bad way. I had chosen to take French at my old school! They didn't offer it here apparently, and I was put in the class full of Freshmen who were _still_ light years ahead of me. I knew that French and Spanish were full of similarities but still! I'd have to study my butt off to achieve the most mediocre of grades. Great.

I entered the cafeteria alone and saw a very cliquey set-up. Now where was I going to sit? I couldn't just plop myself down at a random table. The bathroom was beginning to sound like a lovely place to eat when I heard a voice call, "Haley, over here!" I whipped around and there was Mason sitting at a big table full of girls and a very few guys.

I smiled and walked over to the table. "Is it okay if I sit here?" I asked Mason.

"Well that's why I called you over," he nudged the girl next to him. She moved over to make room for me on the bench and I slid my tray in gratefully.

The whole table was talking animatedly about something I couldn't follow. It involved something about First Beach. First Beach? Was there a Second and Third Beach too? Talk about unimaginative names.

I was really itching to take the book out of my backpack. I resisted. Reading at lunch was a big part of what had made me seem weird back home. Even if this was the other side of the country, I was sure there were some universals involving bespectacled girls who read at lunchtime.

The girl next to me, whose name I was fairly certain was Amy, turned to me, "I'm Allie," close enough, "We're talking about the trip to the beach in La Push, the Quileute reservation, we're planning for after school on Friday. Mason's older brother's driving everyone after school. Want to come?"

"Sure," I said, I didn't have any plans anyway. I smiled at Allie. She seemed really nice. That brought me up to two potential friends, or at least friendly people. I was on a role.

The week passed almost painfully slowly. I came to school each morning and took notes as the teachers babbled on about something I'd already learned, came home, did my homework, read, and went to bed, trying to ignore Sophie's snores. The only fun part of my days was lunch. I eventually remembered everyone's name. It was a really funny group Mason had introduced me to. Almost everyone was loud and outgoing, and they provided entertainment equal to that of a book.

It was really strange how I could know so many people and have them not know the most basic thing about me. Sure, they asked me to describe the little town in Massachusetts where I came from, they asked me whether I had siblings or pets, but most of it was politeness. Mason and Allie seemed more interested than the rest, though, and I found myself telling them more about my reading hobby. In return, I found out that Mason acted (of course) and Allie played tennis.

I had told my parents where I would be on Friday, and they could hardly keep in their excitement that their anti-social daughter had finally made some friends. When Friday finally came around, I piled into the back of the old car (I had absolutely no idea what kind of car it was, and didn't really care, either) and Mason's brother drove off.

I was incredibly squashed in the back. We were most definitely exceeding the maximum carrying capacity for this car. I made small talk with the girl next to me, Cassie, also an actor, until we arrived near the rocky shore.

It was beautiful, if a little wet and cold. What more could be expected from one of the wettest places in the country? We gathered up driftwood and made a fire with it. It was a miracle in my opinion, although the rain wasn't very heavy at the moment. The greenish-blue flames danced as I watched them and wondered why I had bothered to come on this trip.

Nature trips were never very interesting for me; I'd learned that long ago. I had accepted out of desperation to make a few friends. I was very easily bored. I reached into my bag, sighing. I'd hidden my true nature long enough. Now I couldn't take it anymore I needed to fend off some of the boredom.

I settled down on the log and happily opened my book, hunched over it so that it wouldn't get wet. It was a hopeless endeavor, but worth it, my book would dry later.

I could feel the stares of the people around me. I knew they wouldn't last long. People were just shocked that I'd use an exciting trip into the great outdoors to do something as commonplace and supposedly boring as read. They'd stop soon, there's nothing all that interesting in watching another person read, unless I happen to be crying. I only do that in an extremely sad book, so I figured I was safe from that little spectacle. I just had to keep myself from giggling during the funny parts.

After a bit of time, I had no idea how long, I heard footsteps coming up to our group. I looked up and saw four teenage boys dressed in tee shirts and cut-off shorts. I gawked. It was freezing out here! Not to mention wet. It was only September but it felt like November to me.

They appeared to be Native American, most likely from the Quileute tribe. We were on their reservation, after all. What really made me stare though was the fact that they were all well over six feet tall, maybe seven feet in some cases. They looked even taller from where I was sitting, so low to the ground. They were also muscled up like they were on steroids. Was someone feeding them experimental growth hormones?

One of them caught my attention more than most. He was fairly good looking, with reddish brown skin and short black hair and dark eyes. He was also staring like a goldfish, a man that had never seen the sun, someone who had just witnessed a miracle.

And he was staring directly at me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy crap that was fast! Does everyone always respond almost immediately to a new story? I know the whole First Beach bonfire thing is pretty much what happened in Twilight, but I honestly had no idea how else to let the two of them meet. La Push isn't exactly a tourist destination with theme parks. Then again, maybe it will be in real life now that Twilight made it famous. Thank you thank you thank you for reading.**

**Last time:**

**One of them caught my attention more than most. He was fairly good looking, with reddish brown skin and short black hair and dark eyes. He was also staring like a goldfish, a man that had never seen the sun, someone who had just witnessed a miracle.**

**And he was staring directly at me.**

I nudged Mason, who was sitting next to me, though he was actually acting social. "Who're they?"

Mason looked up, "The freakishly tall ones? They live on the rez. I think their names are Jake, Embry, Quil, and Seth, but I don't know them all that well."

I lowered my voice in the hopes no one would hear me. "Who's the one staring at us?"

"Us? That's Seth, and I'm pretty sure he's looking at you, hun. Good luck!" Mason winked. I wanted to sink into the ground.

"Hi!" Cassie yelled out, waving her hand, "Want to join us?"

"Sure," one of them, the tallest, said, "I'm Jake, this is Quil, Embry, and Seth." As he said names, he gestured toward each. When he looked at Seth, he looked momentarily shocked. Oh good, I wasn't the only one noticing his weird behavior; I haven't gone crazy after all.

"Hey Seth, come on," he back at the rest of us. "'Scuse us for a second." He grabbed Seth by the arm and the two of them walked off towards the woods.

The other two, Quil and Embry, gave each other knowing looks and sat down, farther away from the fire than I would've sat, given their summer wardrobes. They started talking to some of the others, Allie, Cassie, and another girl named Vivian. Was it just my imagination, or were they looking at me a bit curiously? I was sure they were. Every time I saw them doing it, they would pointedly stare at something else.

Allie started introducing everyone, "…and this is Haley." I looked up when she said my name. Coming back toward us were Seth and Jake, or the ones with the normal names. Oh great, just when I thought I'd been embarrassed enough, he had to come back to ogle me some more. When someone's looking at you like that, everyone else looks at you too.

Mason noticed that Seth was coming back and got up from his spot next to me to go sit next to Allie, winking at me again in the process. Thanks, thanks a lot.

Seth was coming closer. Please, please don't sit next to me. I knew I'd cause myself utter humiliation if he did, even if he was really cute. "Fairly good looking," what was I thinking? He was absolutely amazing! That gave me even more reason not to want him to sit next to me. What would he possibly want with me? He could get pretty much any girl he wanted, what with that face and that body. I, on the other hand, had never been asked out, flirted with, asked to dance, or anything else like that. I'd been starting to think I gave off a weird anti-boy vibe. I wasn't hideous or obese or anything.

He came over and sat down next to me. Rats. "Hi, you new here? I'm Seth Clearwater." Oh my gosh his voice! I had to calm down. There was no way he'd be interested in me at all. He was still staring at me, though. I ran my tongue over my teeth, trying to check for any bit of food from lunch. No, nothing. Why was he still staring at me?

"Y-yes," I managed to stutter out. I took a deep breath, trying to make the butterflies in my stomach go away. No luck. "I'm Haley Adams."

"Where are you from?" he asked, actually sounding genuinely interested in the answer.

"Massachusetts," I said, faking a Bah-ston accent. I couldn't resist. Now that he was here, I realized I wanted him to stay. Attempting humor seemed like a good way to go about that.

"Wow," he said, "That's a long way."

"Tell me about it. It's so different here. I mean, I lived on the coast by a lot of forest but it just looks and feels so different. Not just because of the rain, either."

He grinned. "What grade are you in?"

After I answered that question and asked it in return, he started quizzing me on almost everything. After a while I learned that he was in the eleventh grade, was sixteen, had an older sister named Leah, had no pets, his favorite animal was a wolf (he looked a bit amused as he said this one), his favorite color was green, and he liked pizza.

When he got to, "What's your favorite book?" I smiled. "I don't really have a favorite book. I have way too many books that I like to choose a favorite."

"Name one that you like, then," he insisted.

I lifted the book that I was currently reading off my lap. It was _Eragon_. I had always been a huge fan of fantasy; I often wished I lived in a place where magical things were possible. I handed the rather tattered book to him. He flipped it over and started reading the back. Hmmm, he was not a very fast reader. He handed it back to me.

"Looks cool," he said, "Maybe I'll read it sometime."

"Maybe, it's really good. It's about my seventh time reading it. You could borrow it if you like." I handed it out to him. He reached for it tentatively, and held it like it might shatter into a million pieces.

"Thanks," he grinned again. He had such straight, white teeth. My teeth were straight too, after no little amount of orthodontia funded by my parents. I tried to look at him without it being obvious that I was doing it. It was useless, but it didn't really matter. He was still staring at me.

It was at that moment that Mason's older brother, the chauffeur, called out, "Come on, everybody! I'm leaving with the car, with or without you!"

"I guess I have to go," I said, smiling wryly up at Seth. I started to get up, but he touched my hand. I jumped, a reflex action, not because I was startled but because his hand was burning hot!

"Sorry about that," he said, "I run a little hotter than most people. It runs in the family. Would you like to come over here to a bonfire tomorrow- Saturday- night? I can pick you up around six if you tell me where your house is."

The hallelujah chorus sounded at full volume in my head. Had I heard correctly? Had I just been asked out on a date? Good grief I needed to pinch myself! No, bad idea, he would think I was nuts!

"Um, sure, that would be great," it came out sounding like a question. That was better than me sounding as excited as I actually was. That would've scared him away for sure. I told him my cell phone number and new address, almost giving him my old address in the process. No better way to spoil a date than to make the guy late and unable to find you.

I dashed to catch up with the others, who were already waiting inside the car, almost falling on the slippery rocks. I caught myself, though and climbed into the backseat next to Allie.

She looked over to me, "He seemed nice," she said with a smile, turning to look at him as he walked away with his friends.

I was unable to keep myself from smiling as I answered, "Yeah, he asked me out for tomorrow night."

She looked impressed, and a bit puzzled. I hadn't exactly been the most social person around them, preferring to do my own thing. Around him, though, I had opened up considerably. She probably guessed that I liked him.

My face burned. I knew that other people went on dates all the time without turning the color of a ripe tomato but I couldn't help it. I hoped I'd get used to it before I got home so that I could tell my parents without them asking what was wrong. My dad was going to be hard to handle without that.

I looked outside the window as we drove past. I seemed to find much more beauty in the scenery and the patterns the rain was making in the window than before. I tuned out all the rowdy conversation in the car and continued to stare at the forest lining the roadway.

At one point I thought I saw some sort of huge sandy brown animal through the foliage, but decided it must've been my imagination. The only animal I could think of that would be that big was a bear and I didn't think there were any bears that color around here.

Since I lived so close to Mason and his brother, I was the last to be dropped off. I walked into the house and was greeted by the loud yaps of Dan's dog. "Ankle-biter," I mumbled under my breath. "I'm home!" I called out next.

My mom walked out of the kitchen and hugged me. "Hey, have fun?"

Now was my chance. I had to spit it out before Dad came and made it awkward. Mom would be much more happy (ah hem) overjoyed about it. She was popular in high school and didn't know where she went wrong with me.

"Yeah, a lot of fun," I gave the most innocent smile I knew how. "There was this really nice guy named Seth there too and he asked me out for tomorrow night," I said hurriedly. I wanted to get it over with.

"Oh, that's so nice Haley! Your first date!"

"Haley's going on a date?" Sophie really has got to stop eavesdropping. This is turning into a problem.

"It's just a bonfire with him, and some friends of his, I guess. Nothing special," I insisted.

"Come on Haley! It is too. Oh, and you're not allowed to wear anything like _that_," Sophie pointed at my jeans, rain boots, and oversized sweatshirt.

"Soph, will you _please_ just leave me alone?" I begged, walking upstairs.

"No can do," she followed me up. "We share a room now, remember?"

"How could I possibly forget?" I said sarcastically. She was really starting to bug me now. She followed me into our room and watched as I lay down on my bed.

"Okay, now you have to find out what you're wearing tomorrow," said Sophie. She went into my dresser and started throwing clothes on my bed, (i.e. on top of me). I covered my face with my pillow. After a few minutes, when she still hadn't left me alone, I got up and pulled my clothes away from her.

"You can't just decide what I'm going to wear! It's going to be a bonfire! I'll look stupid wearing these."

Sophie gritted her teeth. I could practically see the light bulb flash above her head before she called out, "Haley's got a boyfriend!"

Naturally, this led both of my brothers to come into the room and start going "Ooooooooh" and singing that stupid song about sitting in a tree and k-i-s-s-i-n-g. Hadn't they outgrown that dumb song yet?

I yanked the pillow back over my face, which was apparently the wrong move because they instantly started taking the pillow from me and hitting me with all the pillows in the room.

"Mooooooo-ooooom!" I screeched. She had a rule against screeching her name but I frankly didn't give a hoot at the moment. I could've gotten past either one of them alone, I could've taken either in a fight, but together, Chris and Dan were the terrible twosome.

My mom called back, "What'd I say about screaming my name?" Figures. Those siblings of mine are crafty. I squirmed with difficulty out of my room, grabbing a book on the way, and walked into the kitchen, which had a large view of the forest. Just as I opened the book, I could've sworn I saw another flash of the sandy brown I'd seen earlier, but I blinked and it was gone.

The rest of the night and most of the next day seemed to drag. Time always did when I was anticipating something. I couldn't sleep. The rain that I had become more accustomed to over the last two weeks had started to sound soothing, but tonight it was like someone was banging on a drum set. I tossed and turned for hours until finally drifting off around four in the morning.

As always, I woke up late. This time, I practically set a record. One in the afternoon! Was my family crazy? Why would they leave me in bed past lunchtime? I sometimes think that they just get a kick out of my sleeping abilities. Or maybe they had tried to wake me but given up. Both were valid possibilities.

I spent the next five or so hours alternately jumping up and down and reading. I didn't bother getting too dressed up. I just wore my jeans and rain boots. No one could accuse me of not trying to look nice, though. I had on a pretty sweater. Sophie would probably try to jump me. There are advantages to being three years older and twenty pounds heavier, though. She failed. Haley: 1, Sophie: 0.

I was sitting in the kitchen, trying to distract myself by talking to my mother (it didn't work) when the doorbell rang.

I jumped up, grabbed the dog before he could jump on him (not that he could do a lot of damage, Seth looked like the type who could take a Maltese attack) and tried to get to the door before my dad could.

I opened the door and, smiling down at me like I'd just made his day, was Seth.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey I'm back…again. Don't get used to such frequent reviews. I have to go away from the Internet in a few days and will be away for a while. I also wanted to clarify that Mason is not meant to be Mike-like. He's just an abnormally friendly guy (who likes other guys, not Haley). You guys are great. Don't ever change.**

**Last time:**

**I opened the door and, smiling down at me like I'd just made his day, was Seth.**

I beamed. Was I always this unnaturally happy around him? It was too early to tell.

Seth gestured down at the yapping dog still in my hands and grinned, "Dog person?"

I laughed, "This is my brother's dog, I just picked him up because he always jumps on people who answer the door."

"Does he knock them over?" This really made me laugh. The little dog didn't even weigh ten pounds.

"Something funny?" Oh rats my dad was here. "Who are you?" Who was my dad kidding? He knew exactly whom Seth was, and what time he was coming. What was worse, I could tell my dad was trying to intimidate him, even though he was more than half a foot shorter.

"Dad," I glared at him. "Please."

"Fine," he grinned, he could never pretend to be tough for very long. He put his threatening face on again, "Have her back by ten."

"Yes, sir," said Seth, looking almost as weirded out as I was.

I handed the dog to my father, trying to look manly and terrifying was no easy task with a fluffy white dog in your arms.

"Nice car," I commented as we walked down the driveway. I was trying to break the awkward silence.

"Oh, thanks," he said. "It's not mine, though. I borrowed it from Jake. Does your dad not like me?" He opened the passenger door. Who said chivalry was dead?

"Nothing like that," I said as I slid onto the seat. "He's just seen too many cheesy teen movies. The technique would've worked better if he was taller."

"That would explain it. Try suggesting that he buy a shotgun. Much scarier," he laughed.

I giggled. Seth was so easy to be around. I was awkward around pretty much every other straight guy I met, which would explain why this was my first-ever date, a fact that I was certainly not going to let him know. Seth may have been easy to be around but that didn't mean that _I_ wasn't still capable of screwing things up and making them awkward.

"Well, that would only make things more difficult for you." Oh my God that was a stupid thing to say. I just assumed that we'd be going out again. Wait, maybe that was okay to say, after all. I honestly had no idea. I had to wait until I saw his response.

"That's true. Don't tell him I said that." Thank God! I hadn't screwed up yet.

"Deal. So where exactly are we going?" I asked. The word bonfire didn't really mean much to me. I'd gone camping of course, and roasted marshmallows and hot dogs but I had a feeling this was going to be different.

"Well, it's a bit like a party and a camp-out combined. We all get together around the fire, eat ourselves sick, talk, and sometime we tell stories."

"Ghost stories?" I wondered out loud.

"They kind of sound like them but no, they're tribal legends," Seth smiled wider. "I think you'll like them, Haley."

"Who's going to be there?" I knew it was starting to seem like I was interrogating him, but I was really anxious to know what we were doing. I'd never been so excited in my life.

"Mostly a lot of kids around our age, Jake, Quil, and Embry will be there, but there will be some parents," he said.

"Will your parents be there?" I asked. I was honestly worried about that one. I thought that the meet the parents' scenario could be put off a while.

"My mom will. My dad died last year," his usually happy face became solemn.

A rush of pain swept through me. Seth was such a nice person. He shouldn't have had to go through something like that. It was awful, an example of how unfair life was.

"I'm so sorry," I said, not knowing what else _to_ say. I'd done it. I had inadvertently ruined the date. This one would go down in the record books. I'd make Seth sad. What kind of person _was_ I?

"It's all right," he said, smiling weakly. "He didn't want anyone to be too sad over him."

"He sounds really nice." Crisis averted. Thank God!

We talked of more inconsequential things for the rest of the short drive. It seemed to fly by. He had read almost halfway through the book I had lent him. How had he managed that? It seemed like something I would do, and judging from the amount of time it'd taken him to read the back cover, he was about half as fast as me. He must've spent all day or night reading. Either that, or I was overanalyzing like a maniac and he was just taking his time reading the back cover yesterday. I needed to stop being such a nerd.

We got out of the car and walked a short distance through the woods. I knew we were close before I could see it. There was a lot of noise, the sound of a lot of teenaged boys in a group. There was also the familiar scent of wood smoke. I walked quickly to keep up with Seth's long strides.

I realized I was right about the teenaged boys. Was everyone around here this gigantic? Apparently those experimental growth hormones were in the water. Seth saw someone in the crowd and led me over. There were two women in front of me. One was about my height and was older, maybe in her mid-forties, the other was tall, not as tall as Seth but she had to be approaching six feet. They both had very short haircuts.

"Haley, this is my mom and my sister Leah. Mom, Leah, this is my im- this is Haley." Seth cut himself off mid-word. I saw Leah's eyes widening as he did so, as if she was trying to communicate something to him.

I raised my hand up in a handshake to Mrs. Clearwater. It could never be said that I had never been taught manners. Choosing to use them was another matter entirely.

Leah eyed me fiercely as I shook her mother's hand. She was going to be one of those scary, protective older siblings like in old sitcoms. I could tell. I knew this was getting too good to be true.

I looked around to see who else was there. I spotted the group that was at the beach with Seth yesterday. There were two little girls with them. One of them looked about four and had the dark skin, hair, and eyes that almost everyone here had. She was adorable. The other appeared to be about six or seven and had long auburn curls and very pale skin. She was also the most beautiful child that I had ever seen.

Seth and Leah must've seen them too, because they started walking over to join them. I wondered why the five of them stuck together inside of the huge group and also why there were two kids with them. Were they babysitting?

Jake saw us approaching. "Hey Seth, Leah. Hi Haley. This is Nessie- uh, Renesmee- and Claire."

I smiled. Kids (not counting younger siblings) were adorable. I squatted down to their level. "Hi, guys. I'm Haley."

Claire hid her face against Quil's leg, but Nessie (the one with the very strange name that'd slipped my mind) walked right up to me and said in a voice that seemed much too old for her tiny body, "Hello, I'm Renesmee Cullen. You can call me Nessie. It's nice to have you here."

Before I could say "precocious child prodigy," I was being introduced to scores of other people, many of whom were the outrageously tall boys. A few of them had girlfriends with them, or maybe fiancées or wives or something. I frankly couldn't tell how old any of them were. The boys-men-guys all could pass for being in their mid-twenties.

I met Sam and Emily, a kind woman with three long scars marring her otherwise flawless face; Jared and Kim, a shy girl who seemed very sweet; Paul and Rachel, who I was told was Jake's sister. There were two other single boys, Collin and Brady.

I'd seen so many overgrown boys in just a few days that they all started to run together in my head. All except for Seth, something about him stood out to me. I'd never been terribly good at remembering names and now I was nervous that I would get them mixed up.

All of a sudden, a stampede seemed to run through the group. The food was ready. Figures. They must need to eat a lot of food if they were all that big. I walked over to the log where Seth was piercing a hot dog with a straightened wire hanger.

I was wrong. These boys didn't need a _lot_ of food; they needed a _ton_. The literal ton, as in two thousand pounds. I watched in amazement as Seth ate nineteen hot dogs, a huge bag of chips, and a giant bottle of Coke. After that, he roasted about ten marshmallows. Some of the others ate even more, but I didn't watch them as much.

I wondered absently what would happen to me if I ate that much. I shuddered. I would most likely get sick before I finished it, and then possibly explode.

All of a sudden, the mood seemed to unexpectedly quiet down. "What's happening?" I whispered to Seth.

He turned to me with that look of his, the one that made me happy even when I asked an extremely stupid question, like now. "The legends," he said. I leaned forward eagerly. This would be fun.

The middle-aged man in the wheelchair, whom I vaguely remembered being introduced to, started talking. I was mesmerized from the very beginning. The things he talked of were unreal: spirit warriors, men who transformed into wolves, the cold ones. I would've given my undivided attention to the legends if Seth hadn't been looking at me the whole time. I was sure that I was blushing.

Even with Seth's attention so clearly on me, I couldn't help but be drawn into the tale. I shivered when the cold one were first mentioned and I felt Seth's hand, almost as hot as the fire we were sitting around, close around mine. When the Third Wife gave up her own life as the ultimate sacrifice, I gasped audibly and hoped no one heard it.

The story was easy to analyze after years of reading. There were morals, a well-developed plot, everything that made a story great. There was just one thing that bothered me. At the end, the old man narrating the story mentioned something about the sons of the tribe "sharing the burden and carrying the sacrifice" I was confused. It was a story. There was no burden or sacrifice, not a real one. Where was the happy, definite ending or the tragic, but equally definite ending?

No one said anything. I felt a bit uneasy, as if everyone was watching me. Seth's gaze I was almost used to, but these stares were different. It was as if I was outside of a circle, and they were nervous in case they said anything I wasn't supposed to know. I dismissed it. Everyone here had been more than nice to me. I was crazy.

Seth broke the silence; "I think I have to take you back now Haley, if you want to get back by ten."

I nodded, "Okay," and got up, following his lead back to the car.

"So, what did you think?" asked Seth once we were a few yards away from the bonfire.

"It was a great story," I said, trying to come up with something more original. "And all your friends are wicked nice. I'm probably going to have nightmares tonight."

"Nightmares?" Seth looked puzzled.

"I don't really tolerate monster stories, especially vampire or werewolf stories, well," I giggled. "I slept with the light on for a week once, after watching a scary movie."

Seth looked a bit apprehensive. Had I done it again? _Great Haley, you just seem determined to ruin this date, huh?_

He quickly recovered his grin. Yes! "Just after hearing a story?"

"Well, they were really good story-tellers. I got really into it," I tried to make a better impression. We climbed into the car. Seth opened my door for me again.

We talked of lighter matters on the way home. I suggested that instead of saying "enough food to feed the army" we could change the saying to "enough food to feed all the boys in La Push."

He actually seemed to appreciate my lame attempts at humor. People had pretended to like my jokes before, but I could always tell they were faking. Seth genuinely thought I was funny. Heck, when I was around him, the way he treated and looked at me, you would've thought that I was the funniest, prettiest, kindest, smartest girl in the world, which I knew to be far from the truth.

We pulled up into my driveway. We were right on time. About two minutes early actually. Seth twisted in his seat. "Haley…" he looked like he was about to say something, and from the look on his face, it was probably important. Maybe it wasn't though. I wasn't the most astute at reading facial expressions and when he was looking at me, all of his expressions seemed pretty similar. Not that I was complaining.

"Yes?" I asked.

He hesitated. "I'll walk you up," he said.

We got out of the car and walked up, side by side, to my front door. "Thanks so much!" I said. "I had the best time. You can't even imagine."

"I think I can understand." He leaned way down and kissed me on the cheek. "I had a really great time, too."

Dazed, I bid him goodbye and walked in the door, yelling out that I was home. I stumbled up the stairs, into my room and flopped down on my bed. A slight pressure appeared on my bed.

"So," said Sophie, "how'd it go?"

"Amazing," I answered, still a bit bemused. I rolled over and refused to answer any more questions.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey all my readers out there. I just wanted to say again how much I appreciate all of this support. I never expected to get many readers; much less reviews, but you guys have exceeded all of my expectations. I had an epiphany today and now I pretty much know how the whole story is going to play out. Enjoy! **

**Last time:**

"**So," said Sophie, "how'd it go?"**

"**Amazing," I answered, still a bit bemused. I rolled over and refused to answer any more questions.**

I woke up earlier than usual the next morning. I turned over and saw Sophie sleeping in the bed next to me. What was going on here? I looked at my alarm clock. It was eight in the morning! What was happening here? I never got up at eight. I tried to never get up before nine unless I absolutely had to. What was worse, I was alert, wide-awake, and not groggy in the least.

I had been wrong about the nightmares. I didn't know if Seth had done it on purpose, but being around him had chased every scary image from my mind, even after he was gone.

I rolled out of bed, walked down the stairs and into the kitchen and poured myself an enormous bowl of cereal. I almost sighed as I realized that I still had yet to do my homework. I decided to get it over with and then read a bit and maybe watch some television.

I changed into a ratty old pair of sweat pants, stuck my long hair up in a very messy bun, and collapsed onto the sofa. No one was going to see me today, anyway. Sophie might want to whack me over the head with a broomstick, but no one else in my family would care.

A few hours later, all my homework was done, even my Spanish. Thank God my family owned a Spanish-English dictionary. I grabbed the remote control and switched on the television. Sophie came in and sat down in the chair next to me. We were just getting comfortable watching reruns of '80s sitcoms when the doorbell rang.

"Your turn," I said to Sophie. She rolled her eyes and walked out of the room toward the door. I got my attention back to the show for a full ten seconds before my attention was jolted back into the real world.

"Haley, that freakishly tall guy is here again!" I heard Sophie scream. I jumped up. I needed to get Sophie away from Seth before she had a chance to embarrass me again.

I jogged over to the doorway, where Seth was waiting patiently as Sophie was chattering to him about something. I realized with a shock what I was wearing. I probably looked like a complete slob. I prayed that he wouldn't notice. What was he here for, anyway? I wasn't complaining or anything, but I couldn't think up a reason for why he would show up at my door unexpectedly, less than twenty-four hours since I'd last seen him.

I shot Sophie a glance that would hopefully make her go away. "Sorry about my sister," I said.

"It's okay," he said. I didn't care anymore why he was here. I was just glad he was. He just had that way of _looking_.

"I need to talk to you about something important," he said. Oh no, this was like what boys said when they wanted to break up with a girl on television shows. Oh, who was I kidding, we weren't even technically together. Yet. "Can we take a walk?"

I realized I had been staring at him for about five seconds since he had asked his question. I blushed. "Sure, okay. Where?"

"I was thinking we could just go on a bit of a hike in the woods," he grinned. "I know my way around them."

I wasn't exactly a nature person, but I wasn't going to pass on a chance to spend time with Seth. I quickly agreed and made Sophie agree to tell Mom on the pain of death. I slid my sneakers on and followed Seth out the door.

I again got into his car, and he drove for about two minutes and parked along the side of the road. Seth gestured at the woods, "You coming?"

I jogged a bit to catch up with him, and then speed walked beside him in order to keep up with his long strides.

We walked in silence for a few minutes. I reveled in the closeness that seemed to pass without words between us. I knew I wasn't the most experienced in the relationship department, but there had to be something special here. I doubted every high school couple felt like this, and we weren't even officially a couple. He hadn't said it aloud anyway, we sure felt like one to me.

Seth stopped when we were past the point where anyone could see us from outside the forest. He looked at the ground and took a deep breath, as if preparing himself for something. I panicked a bit. What was wrong? Did he have a terminal disease? Six months to live? A good sense of humor and an idea of how to freak me out? I doubted it was the last one.

"Did you like the legends that Billy and Old Quil told last night?" he asked.

"Yes, they were great. I told you already." I was getting nervous.

Seth took another huge breath. "What if I told you the legends aren't legends? What if they're real?"

I shivered. "You can't be serious. I know it's a treasured piece of your cultural heritage and everything, but things like that can't exist. It's impossible."

"It's not impossible, Haley. What I'm trying to say is, I'm a werewolf."

Now I knew was a good time to back away. Seth was either mentally deranged or into hard drugs. I knew I should back away, but I couldn't bring myself to. Maybe I was mentally deranged too, but I felt safe around him. That didn't mean I was going to believe his werewolf story, though.

"Seth, that's not possible. Werewolves are only in the movies. I'm not that gullible. Please, just tell me the truth." I felt like a fool. People always tried to play jokes like this on me at my old school. I was infamously gullible.

"I'm not lying to you. I could never lie to you. If you don't trust me, I'll prove it." Seth unleashed the full power his gaze had on me.

I went slightly weak. "Okay, lets say you are a werewolf. How are you going to prove it? It's not the full moon," I mumbled slightly.

Seth chuckled. "We don't transform during the full moon. We can transform any time. Just stay right here. No matter what happens, promise not to panic. There is nothing to be afraid of." He turned around and ran off at a scary speed that I thought could only be attained by Olympic athletes.

I sighed. I hoped he'd be done with his joke soon. I started to get a bit nervous. What if Seth wasn't the amazing guy I'd made him out to be? What if he left me here? No, I couldn't believe he would do that. There was a freaky connection between us that I wasn't imagining. No matter what he did, a part of me knew that he would never intentionally hurt me.

I heard heavy footprints falling on the forest floor. I spun around. It surely couldn't be… But it was. A giant sand-colored wolf as big as a bear was standing calmly a few yards away from me. My head spun. This was either a huge coincidence, and an extremely dangerous wild animal that would want to eat me for dinner, or Seth was telling the truth.

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision so I could be sure of what I saw, because what I saw was too insane to believe. The enormous beast was looking at me. Not just looking at me but _looking_ at me. _The exact same way that Seth did._

That did it. I was now 99.9% sure that Seth was the large canine sitting so tamely in front of me. I approached it cautiously, knowing that if it turned out to be a real animal I would be sorry. What the heck, it was already close enough. It could eat me if it wanted to, and nothing I did would stop it.

I was a foot away from it. I reached out my hand, knowing that what I was doing could be very, very stupid. I couldn't resist, though. I touched my hand to the soft fur and knew, with 500% certainty, that this was Seth and that he meant me no harm.

"Hi Seth," I said, as he bent his gigantic head down to look me straight in the eye. "I guess it's a good thing we didn't bet on this." Seth grinned an huge, wolfy grin. I grinned too. It was infectious. "Do you mind explaining this a bit more? Not now, I mean, you can't talk now, but could you maybe change back and tell me." I was babbling. Someone really needed to slap me. Not Seth though, at least not with those paws.

He turned around and walked off. I sat down on a tree root. This was just too much to take in. My head was spinning with the complications of what I had just seen. It just wasn't physically possible for one thing to change into another. I'd paid enough attention in science class to know that much.

Seth came sprinting back into view. He stopped when he saw me on the ground. He wasn't even out of breath. He reached over and pulled me to my feet, keeping his oven-hot hand in mine.

"Are you alright?" he asked. He looked incredibly worried.

"I'm fine," I said, my voice a bit unsteady. "I'm just a bit overwhelmed. I wasn't exactly expecting this. Just a few questions though. Are all of the legends true, including the one about the cold ones?"

"Yes, we call them vampires now, though. It's the reason I can transform. Vampires trigger the gene that makes us turn into huge wolves. It's our job to protect the people of our tribe from any harmful ones."

"Us? How many of you are there?" I noticed I sounded a bit panicked.

"Ten. Me, Jake, Embry, Quil, Leah, Sam, Jared, Paul, Collin, and Brady. There are two different packs though, with two different alphas."

"Alphas? Like in real wolf packs?"

"Exactly, we need a leader in order to function properly, just like the wild animals."

"One more thing. Why are you telling me all this? I have no special powers. I've known you for only a few days." I hoped I didn't sound whiny. I really didn't understand why I was chosen to be let in on the secret.

"Remember in the story, how Taha Aki found his true spirit wife? Well, I guess that was sort of like the first imprinting. Imprinting is a bit like love at first sight, but not exactly. It's not necessarily love, it's more of a gravity thing. When you imprint, all you want to do is protect her and make her happy. You find your soul mate. I imprinted on you, Haley."

I was already feeling a bit faint from the werewolf encounter and the realization that the world was incredibly different from how I had always thought of it to be. When I heard this, I couldn't help it. My legs gave out from under me. Seth acted more quickly than I had though possible. He caught me mid-fall and scooped me up into his arms.

I closed my eyes. It was a dream. An amazing, fantastical dream. But then why did I feel so warm? I looked up into the concerned face of Seth. Okay, so this was real. There was a hot (if you'll excuse the pun) werewolf who claimed to be my soul mate. Things could be worse. Who was I kidding? This was unreal.

"You can put me down, now if you're finished with the world-shattering news." Now wasn't exactly the time to be sarcastic, but I needed some semblance of normalcy right now.

Seth set me back on my feet and started explaining the details of being a wolf (werewolf apparently wasn't the correct term) and a short history of his pack. I listened with a gaping mouth to the fact that they could read each others minds when they phased, that they phased whenever they got too angry and couldn't control themselves, and to the long-winded story of a girl named Bella who was now a vampire but had a half-vampire kid while she was human, and got into trouble with the vampire officials. I had a hard time following it in my shocked state, truthfully.

When he was done, Seth looked at me again and asked, "Do you want me to take you home now?"

I nodded. I wanted to spend time with Seth of course, but my parents were going to be wondering what was taking me so long. We made our way back to the car in silence once again. I felt completely normal again, but Seth insisted that I lean on him slightly. I wasn't going to put up a very strong argument against that.

I clambered into the passenger seat of Jake's car. "Why me?" I wondered out loud.

"Why you what?" Seth looked a bit confused.

"Why did you imprint on me?" I asked. Fortune had smiled a little too brightly on me and I was getting a tiny bit suspicious.

"Haley, you're my perfect match, and I'm yours. No one knows exactly why we imprint. I think of it as a short-cut."

"A short-cut?" It was my turn to look confused.

"To finding true love," said Seth, and he leaned over and kissed me. I closed my eyes. I'd always pictured your first kiss as rather cliché and not all that special. I did not know how wrong I was. His arms wrapped around me, and I could feel the heat of his body flowing into mine. His lips were gentle against mine. He pulled away and _looked_ again and I would've sworn everything that I was the luckiest girl in the world.

"I know you just met me," said Seth, "but it doesn't feel that way to me."

I was tongue-tied. What could I possibly say to him that would mean enough. I wanted to fall to my knees and thank him, but I thought I'd made a enough of a fool out of myself for one day.

I settled for a "I don't feel that way either. I think I knew, even before you told me, that there was something special."

Smiling broadly, Seth started the car and started the short drive home. When we arrived, he walked me up again. He stopped on the doorstep and gathered me in his arms. "I'll see you again as soon as I can," he whispered, before leaning down and kissing me again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Please don't kill me! We speak of the Internet connecting everyone, but it apparently doesn't. As I am writing this, I am away from the Internet (vacations, you gotta love 'em, except for when they mess with your Internet plans) but I will be posting this approximately a week from now, along with anything else I write between now and then. I hope you don't get too mad at me for having to wait. Enjoy your reading!**

**Last time:**

**Smiling broadly, Seth started the car and started the short drive home. When we arrived, he walked me up again. He stopped on the doorstep and gathered me in his arms. "I'll see you again as soon as I can," he whispered, before leaning down and kissing me again.**

I staggered into the house. And I'd thought I was dazed last night. Sophie rounded the corner and walked up to me, looking strangely like an angry parent with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

I glanced at the clock. I'd left three hours ago. "You know where I was," I said, "We were just taking a walk in the woods. I wasn't wearing a watch." I figured that I wasn't allowed to give her the actual explanation, but it would've been fun to see the expression on her face, had I told her the truth. _Well, you see I found out that Seth is a werewolf and claims to be my soul mate. Oh, and he sometimes rips vampires limb from limb._ I barely contained my laugh.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"Sorry, _Mom_. Jeez Sophie, quit it already. Are Mom and Dad upset with me?"

"No, Dad's going pretty nuts, though. He was saying something about you turning into a 'boy-crazy teenager.'"

I rolled my eyes. Even if legends were actually true and fundamental parts of the world were different than everyone thought, and my life would most likely never be the same again, Dad was exactly the same. I braced myself. I would bet quite a bit of money that he was about to give me a 'talk.' I resolved to run away if he ever decided to bring it up. I knew where to find a good-sized closet to hide in for as long as necessary.

"If I was boy-crazy, wouldn't I be chasing all boys in general, not just going out on a date with one?"

"Yeah, but try telling him that," Sophie smiled and walked up the stairs to our room.

I went into the living room, where my dad was watching some football game and my mom was looking through a magazine. "I'm back," I said, not really knowing what else to say. I was their oldest child, so we were all in unfamiliar territory here.

I went over to the couch and sat down next to my mom. She hugged me. "Did you have a good time?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's really pretty around here," I said. "It was fun." If only she knew. I reassured her that all my homework was done, and then went upstairs to my room. I needed to think, and even though Sophie was there, it was likely to be the quietest place in the house.

I was right. The only noise in the room was the faint buzz coming from Sophie's headphones as she listened to her iPod. I sat down on my bed and stared out the window. I knew that I liked Seth, I really, really did. That wasn't the problem.

My head was still spinning from finding out about the existence of werewolves and vampires. I guess I'd assumed that humans were the supreme species, the top of the food chain. I never thought it could be otherwise. I was a bit scared to realize that a vampire could decide that he wanted to drink my blood any time and I would be completely helpless. Or rather, I would be completely helpless unless a wolf happened to be there. I shivered and tried to clear my head of the images of wolves and vampires tearing each other apart.

I felt slightly rebellious, even though I hadn't technically done anything wrong. All I'd done was go into the woods, walk, talk, kiss, all normal teenage activities. Oh yeah, and I'd also discovered the existence of mythical beasts.

It was the secret keeping that I was unused to. I'd never had to keep a big secret like this before, and I was feeling slightly guilty about having to keep it, never mind that it wasn't my secret to tell. I wasn't worried about letting the secret slip, I wasn't a blabbermouth, but I couldn't shake the feeling.

I tried to distract myself by thinking of other things, going on the Internet, watching television, and reading. Nothing was working. I didn't expect it to. I'd felt perfectly safe and content when I was with Seth, but now that he was away (on patrol, he'd said) I was jumpy. I kept imagining vampires behind every tree. I had no idea what vampires looked like, so I substituted Dracula-like images in my imaginings, complete with widow's peaks, fangs, and capes.

Not only that, but I had an inexplicable urge to be near Seth again, even if I had only known him three days. I wondered why he had waited such a short time to tell me the huge secret, though. It might have been a smarter move to wait and let me prove that I was trustworthy first. I knew that I was, but he hadn't. He couldn't have.

I remembered what he'd said earlier, 'I could never lie to you.' Maybe he had to tell me because he imprinted on me, I didn't know any of the specifics or rules regarding imprinting. After what I'd seen today, I could truly say that anything was possible.

I was distracted all through dinner; I barely noticed Chris and Dan throwing their food at each other and Sophie whining at them to stop. Later, I tossed and turned in my bed. I knew I would look ghastly tomorrow, but I didn't know how that could be helped. I was anxious to see Seth again. I'd almost accepted the reality of fictional monsters, but I somehow still needed that proof. Also, less easy to put into words was the attraction Seth had for me. Did this imprinting thing work both ways, or what?

I woke up the next morning to my obnoxious alarm, even more unwelcome than usual. I glanced into the mirror. I was right about looking ghastly. My brown hair stuck up all over my head, I had deep circles under my eyes, and my fair skin looked paler, making my freckles stand out sharper than usual. At least Seth didn't go to my school.

I yanked my brush through the tangles and threw on some clothes without really noticing what they were. Sophie gave me a look as we headed downstairs. She, as usual, was dressed in the preteen version of the height of fashion. I rolled my eyes at her.

After we'd eaten, the four of us made our way to the bus stop, Chris and Dan preparing to wreak havoc as usual. Mom had driven us to school on our first day, but since then, we'd been taking the broken down old yellow school bus. I couldn't wait to get my drivers license.

I kept zoning out in class, the result of very little sleep. I attempted to copy down what all the teachers wrote on their boards, that way I could look at it later, when I was more alert. I saw Allie shooting me a concerned look. I half-smiled at her and shrugged my shoulders.

I walked with Allie to lunch at sat down at the rambunctious table. Was it just me, or did it seem louder than usual? I attributed it to my tired state.

"How was your weekend?" Allie asked me. She must've remembered about my date with Seth.

"Oh yeah, did you have fun with that Seth guy?" Mason chimed in. Well, if she didn't remember before, she sure did now.

I blushed slightly. I was slightly embarrassed about showing my feelings; even though I had been told numerous times that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. "Yeah, it was fun, we went to a bonfire with a bunch of people." No need to mention the walk. They'd just grill me about it, and I didn't feel like making up a story on the spot.

"And what'd you do at the bonfire?" Cassie asked. I knew I'd be facing interrogation.

"Well, everyone practically ate themselves sick, and then told stories."

"Ghost stories?" asked Mason.

"Yes," I said. Even though it wasn't technically true, it was close and I didn't want to go into details, especially since it was so closely connected to the werewolf secret.

After that, they went back to talking among themselves about their own weekends, gossip, school sports teams and the like. I stared at the wall, trying desperately to keep my eyes open, lest I start snoring right there, at the table.

I barely made it through my next two classes. I boarded the bus, went home and fell sound asleep, waking up just in time for dinner.

That night I was actually able to get some sleep. I must've gone out of shock. What didn't go away was the longing to see Seth again. Thankfully, that part didn't keep me up late at night.

The next few days passed uneventfully, though I noticed I was quieter than usual. I was starting to psych myself out a bit, wondering if maybe I hadn't seen him because something happened to him. He did protect people from vampires, after all. What if a vampire… No, I couldn't think like that. He would be fine.

On Thursday afternoon, I noticed a car parked outside the school. It didn't look very familiar to me. It was the driver who caught my attention. It was Seth! Sighing with relief that he was okay (though I knew it was fairly ridiculous) I approached the car.

Seth rolled the window down and called out, "Hi Haley. Wanna come? I was just gonna meet up with everyone."

I grinned, opened the passenger door and climbed in, putting my backpack on the floor of the car. "Whose car is this?" I asked.

"My mom's," he said. "I'm saving up for my own, though. It's great to see you again." I could tell he said the last part because he really meant it, not just out of politeness.

I nodded. "Great to see you too. Do you mind if I call my mom to let her know where I am?"

"Sure," he said. "Do you need a phone?"

"No, I have one," I answered. I quickly dialed my house number and waited impatiently for Mom to pick up.

After Mom agreed wholeheartedly to the plan (she was still overjoyed about my being social for a change), I hurriedly said goodbye and turned back to Seth.

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked.

"Emily and Sam's house. They just got married this summer. Both packs meet there. I think it's because of the food. Emily's an amazing cook."

I snickered, remembering the bonfire and the amount of food those boys were able to put away. It didn't surprise me that they would choose a meeting place based on food.

"What's funny?" he asked.

I laughed again. "Have you seen yourself eat?"

Seth chuckled, "Are we really that bad?"

"Kind of," I admitted. "But you can't really help it."

He didn't say much after that. I knew we could both sense that we didn't need words. I just kept looking at him while he drove, and he would turn his head every so often to look at me. I knew he couldn't do more while he was driving.

Seth parked near a tiny gray house with a colorful window box. I unbuckled my seatbelt, but he made no move to get out of the car. He just looked at me, and then leaned in and kissed me. All too soon, he sat back up.

"I've been waiting for that the whole drive."

My face colored. I remained tongue-tied.

"Wanna go in? I think I smell something cooking."

We both exited the car, and Seth took my hand in his warm one and led me inside. The scarred woman named Emily was there, waiting patiently near the oven while several of the pack salivated at the smell. Emily noticed us and smiled at me. She walked over.

"Haley, welcome. It's so nice to have another girl around. Do you remember Kim?" She gestured to the table where Kim was sitting. I'd overlooked her in the crowd. She smiled and waved at me. I smiled back. She looked a bit older than me, but kind, though a bit shy.

"Yeah, I met her at the bonfire. Before, you know, I found out." I sounded tongue-tied and awkward, and though those were the emotions I was feeling, they weren't the ones I wanted to send out.

The oven-timer dinged at just that moment. Emily was all of a sudden busy taking multiple pans of cookies out of the oven. She placed them on the counter-top, where the hungry boys devoured them almost immediately. I smirked. It was still funny, even after I had laughed at it so many times. Seth looked like he was on his fourth.

I glanced over at Emily, and saw that she was mixing up more batter. I was about to offer to help when Leah came over. She wasn't glowering at me like last time I'd seen her, but she still didn't look very friendly.

"Can I talk to you outside for a sec?"

I nodded weakly and followed her onto the porch. I studied her facial expression. She didn't look angry, just sad. I was a bit shocked to see how much she looked like Seth.

"Listen, I know you can't help this imprinting thing. Just don't do anything to hurt my brother, okay? Because I've seen people give their imprints whatever they want, and it's sickening to watch." She eyed me like a bodyguard, or an overprotective mother, which I supposed amounted to the same thing.

"I wouldn't do that. I really like him. I would never take advantage of that!" My face heated a bit, and I was surprised to hear myself spill out my emotions to Leah, of all people.

"He's already changed because of you. And you know what? I don't think he's ever read for four hours straight before he met you. You guys don't have anything in common and he's trying to change himself so he can relate more to you!" Her tone was accusatory. She turned her back and walked inside the house.

I all of a sudden felt ashamed. I realized the truth in Leah's words. I didn't know if I had changed him or not, because I hadn't known him before he'd imprinted on me, obviously. We were different. Maybe we were too different. Maybe we'd never have worked out if not for the freaky werewolf magic.

He was athletic; I'd never played a sport without quitting in despair. He loved the outdoors; I preferred to stay in. He had apparently not been a lover of books (I remembered how he had taken a long time to read the back cover of my book that day at the beach); I would read all day if I was able.

I knew I wanted him to stay with me, but that would be selfish. We were complete opposites, in almost every way I could think of. I closed my eyes and leaned my arms on the porch railing, and searched for an answer to my dilemma.

**Please understand that I am not Leah hating. I actually completely sympathize with her and her predicament. I just don't like how in a lot of fanfics she immediately accepts Seth's imprint. She has been through a horrible imprinting ordeal, and is protective of her brother to boot. She did join Jacob's pack to look out for him, after all. I think that this is more true to Leah's character.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I am writing this extremely late at night on New Years Eve, though I think it's technically New Years Day, as it's past three in the morning. I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year and apologize again for the ongoing delay in posting chapters. I'm not slacking in writing them; the Internet connection is just nonexistent where I am. Enjoy your chapter!**

**Last time:**

**I knew I wanted him to stay with me, but that would be selfish. We were complete opposites, in almost every way I could think of. I closed my eyes and leaned my arms on the porch railing, and searched for an answer to my dilemma. **

I wasn't sure exactly how long I had been out here. Time seemed to drag. So while it seemed like it had been ten minutes, it might have been two. All I knew was that one second, I had been staring into the trees, and the next, I heard a voice calling my name.

"Haley? Haley? Are you here?" It was Seth. He sounded a bit frantic.

I walked in the door. I didn't want to make him worried. "I'm right here," I said. I looked at the expression of relief and happiness on his face. That solved my earlier dilemma. I couldn't break up with him, no matter how selfish that decision was, because it would make him sad. I couldn't bear the thought of Seth in pain.

I knew it was egotistical to think that I had enough power to make someone sad by leaving, but I thought I'd started to figure out how imprinting worked. It made the imprint very important in the wolf in question's life. I figured that if the imprint went away, the wolf would be crushed. This was all a hypothetical model case going on in my head.

It seemed to fit what information I'd figured out so far. Seth had gone into detail about the aspects of being a wolf, but he had skimmed over the imprinting thing, probably because he didn't want to overwhelm me. I'd been overwhelmed enough.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. I realized I'd been staring off into space for the past ten seconds. I just couldn't seem to stop making a fool out of myself.

"No, nothing's wrong." I smiled genuinely. The happy look on his face was just so infectious. I walked with him back to where the rest of the wolves were munching on chips, cookies, and sandwiches. They looked up when we squeezed into the table.

"So. Little Seth finally imprinted," Quil teased.

I raised my eyebrows. Little? Seth? He was probably around six and a half feet tall. Some of the others looked a few inches taller, but he was still enormously tall. It was a wolf thing.

"Well at least he doesn't have to baby-sit his imprint," Embry put in. He grinned.

I was confused. Quil didn't have a girlfriend at the bonfire. Then I remembered Claire, the little girl he was watching. Oh my God! Could you imprint on a toddler? That was sick.

My emotions must have been showing, because Seth laughed. "No, he doesn't feel that way about her. He will once she's grown up, but now he just wants to keep her happy and safe. Trust me, I've seen his mind."

I was relieved, but I still thought it was a little weird. Even when she was fifteen, sixteen, eighteen, or whatever age she was going to be when they got together, there would still be a gigantic age difference between them. Plus, wouldn't it be hard to take someone seriously if you baby-sat for them almost her whole life?

I brought my attention back to the present. No matter what I thought, it wasn't my business. Claire could do whatever she wanted about it when she got old enough to decide, though it was hard to picture the adorable four-year-old as a teenager.

The meal continued with more friendly bantering, including discussion of a sports game that I couldn't follow, despite growing up with two brothers, and an outrageous betting game. I felt myself becoming happier. It was almost impossible not to be, in this atmosphere. I'd almost forgotten about the disservice I was doing Seth.

He was such a great guy, he deserved better than me. I didn't want to make him do anything against his will. I was starting to see imprinting as a type of chain. It didn't do the wolves themselves any good, but they were bound to us imprints, and that scared me a little. No one should have that type of power over another.

Great, I'd just reminded myself again.

I started chatting with Kim. I was right about her being older than me, she was already a senior, but she was very nice. I was curious to hear about what imprinting was like for other people. I asked her about Jared and how she'd met him.

"I actually knew him before he phased," answered Kim amiably. "He never paid much attention to me before. I kind of liked him, though." At this point she lowered her volume and blushed a bit. I smiled. I could just picture Kim as a blushing schoolgirl with a crush.

"So one day I just walked into class and he was staring at me. There was no real drama. I already knew the legends before I found out they were true. I felt a bad for you, moving to a new place and then getting pulled into the pack with pretty much no warning. It must've been scary for you."

"I guess," I said. "I was never scared of Seth, though," I added hastily.

Kim grinned broadly. I knew I'd found someone who could relate to what I was going through. Emily and Rachel seemed nice enough, but Kim was closer to my own age. I could sense that we were going to be friends.

Seth asked me if I was ready to go after a few hours, a few of the pack had already left. I agreed, and walked with him back to his family's car. Once I was in and buckled, I turned to Seth.

"What happened to Leah?" I asked.

Seth started the car. "Why do you ask?" he said, while driving back onto the road and in the direction of my house.

I couldn't very well tell Seth about the confrontation with Leah, so I told part of the truth. "She just seems a little sad and apart from the group, that's all."

"She wouldn't really want me to tell you this, but you should probably know. Leah and Sam used to be together."

"What?" I was shocked. Emily and Sam seemed so perfect together. I honestly couldn't picture him with anyone else. Not with the way he looked at Emily, very similar to the way Seth looked at me.

"This was before Sam phased. They really loved each other, too. I could tell. After Sam phased, he was told to stay apart from her, because he didn't really have much control over himself yet. Then our cousin Emily came for a visit."

I grimaced. I could tell that this was one story that was not going to have a happy ending.

"So Sam saw Emily and imprinted on her, but then he lost control around her and, well, you've seen her." We both sat in silence in the car for a few moments. I had seen Emily. It was so tragic that Sam had injured his true love and broken his former love's heart so fast. It was like something in a soap opera.

Seth continued, "Leah was crushed. She didn't know about the imprinting until she and I phased over a year ago. It was really terrible for her to have to share Sam's mind. That's why she joined Jake's pack when he broke off from Sam's last year. She's a lot happier now."

I nodded, keeping a poker face. Inside, however, I was shouting 'Eureka!' It made sense now, why she wasn't a fan of imprinting, and why she had described it as 'sickening.' I didn't blame her. But then, couldn't she imprint someday and forget her bond with Sam, like he had forgotten her? I mentioned this last idea to Seth and he sighed.

"She doesn't think she can imprint. She's the first ever girl wolf in our history and she thinks it's because she can't have kids, and so can't imprint. She's even more crushed, if you can believe that, over that."

I nodded again. Poor Leah! It made even more sense now. Not only did a part of her not like imprinting, another part of her was probably jealous of her brother for being able to imprint.

"I had a lot of fun with all your friends," I ventured, trying to get the subject onto a lighter topic.

"Yeah, they're pretty fun people in general. You haven't spent that much time with them, though. Trust me, you'll get sick of them."

I smiled. I honestly couldn't imagine getting sick of anyone, not while I was with Seth. He seemed to bring out the best parts of me. The impatient, cynical parts of me almost never appeared.

We sat in silence for a while after that. It was not the awkward silence I'd been expecting after my encounter with his sister (that he, of course, didn't know about) and his explanation of her depressing story. It was the comfortable silence that we seemed to be able to communicate to each other with.

I relaxed against the seat back. I was a horrible person for staying with Seth after what Leah had told me, but even that didn't decrease my comfort around him, or my feelings for him. If I was being honest with myself, those were growing exponentially.

"Haley?" Seth asked softly.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to go on a normal date sometime? I mean without talking about mythical creatures. We could go to the movies on Saturday. You know, in Port Angeles." He looked excited, pretty much the same way I felt. Everything was more fun with Seth around.

"Yeah!" I was taken aback by the enthusiasm in my own voice. I knew my life was starting to seem like a bad soap opera as it was; now I thought I might be falling in love with Seth. Even thinking the words had me embarrassed.

I felt like hitting myself on the head. Seth had all but told me he loved me that day in the forest. He'd certainly linked imprinting and love together, but he'd never exactly put the words in that order. He must've known I was freaked out enough already. So I felt like a complete and total idiot for being surprised by this. If Seth really were my perfect match, then why wouldn't I fall for him?

It was just that there was such a sense of finality to the words, and I was still new to this, no matter how much I felt like I had known him my entire life. I supposed there was an excuse in that. Under my shock, a sense of pleasure formed. First love, it really was all that it was cracked up to be.

I came back to reality to discover that Seth was looking at me, expectant. I'd spaced out again! He must've asked me a question.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked, mortified.

"Sure, I was just wondering if there were any movies you wanted to see." Typical. He was such a sweet guy, looking out for anything I might want or need.

I decided not to torture him by making him sit through some chick flick (I learned something from my brothers, after all) and named a comedy that I'd thought looked kind of funny. There had to be some middle ground between chick flick and action/horror.

He agreed, but the next thing I knew, we were at my house. It was raining again (when didn't it?) but Seth still insisted on walking me up.

I tilted my head back to look up at his face. "Thanks, so much. It was great." Except for the part where I'd considered breaking up with him because of what his sister said to me, but there was no need for him to know that.

Seth bent down and kissed me once, very softly on the lips. It took everything I had not to faint (again), but I stayed standing, smiled as widely as my lips would go, and opened the door.

"Bye," I said as I stepped over the threshold.

"Bye," he replied. His large, warm hand moved to my face and tucked some of my damp hair behind my ear. "See you Saturday."

I turned around and walked towards my room, backpack in hand. Falling in love with a werewolf or not, I still had to do my homework. I stepped into the room. Sophie was standing just inside the door, looking very interested in something, and a little devious.

"So," said Sophie finally, "when did _this_ happen?"


	7. Chapter 7

**I really hate to say it, but my break is over and I will not be able to update as often as I did at first. I'm really going to try to get everything out of the way so that I can write, so please don't get impatient with me. Enjoy your chapter, everybody!**

**Last time:**

**I turned around and walked towards my room, backpack in hand. Falling in love with a werewolf or not, I still had to do my homework. I stepped into the room. Sophie was standing just inside the door, looking very interested in something, and a little devious.**

"**So," said Sophie finally, "when did **_**this**_** happen?"**

"When did what I do get to be any of your business?" I snapped, flushing.

"Oh don't try to weasel your way out of this. You've been a social reject for like, ever. It's about time you went out with _someone_." Jeez, talk about harsh. I'd never really considered myself a social reject, I just spent most of my time alone and didn't have that many friends. Dang it, I was.

"Don't exaggerate, Soph. I'm only fifteen, so what if he's my first boy…" I blushed again. Wow, I couldn't even say boyfriend. I tried again. "I'm allowed to have a boyfriend." Success.

"Duh, but you have to tell me about freaky-tall-guy."

"His name's Seth," I spat out. "And I don't have to tell you anything. There's nothing much to tell, he lives on the reservation with his sister and mother, he's sixteen, and he's nice." I was lying through my teeth. There was so much more to tell, perhaps starting with the fact that he was my werewolf soul mate (according to him, at least).

"Just tell me…"

"Sophie just go away," I interrupted. "You really know how to put a damper on things."

"Just tell me if he's a good kisser." She looked incredibly sly, smiling innocently. She dropped onto the foot of my bed.

I stared at her. Then I burst into giggles. I couldn't help it; the expectant look on Sophie's face was absolutely priceless. This was ridiculously awkward.

I loved Sophie and all, but she just… There was no way to describe it. She had a tendency to try to embarrass me. Not in public like my dad seemed to like to, but she always knew what would make me squirm. And she used her knowledge. She knew me too well.

"Sophie," I choked out between giggles. "What kind of question is that?"

"An honest one," she replied. "I want to know."

I looked her in the eyes. Was it possible that a thirteen-year-old girl had more experience kissing than I did? I thought back to some of my middle school classmates. Yes. It was.

"Yes," I sighed, blushing yet again. What was up with the blushing thing? I'd blushed more since I'd met Seth than in the last year. I didn't exactly look good when I did, just blotchily red. "Any _real_ reason why you wanted to know?"

"Well I need to know, you know, for when a boy kisses me." Thank God. I had a semblance of normalcy after all! Well, somewhat.

I smiled shyly at Sophie and sat down next to her. I put my arm around her shoulders, ignoring her when she tried to shrug them away halfheartedly. "You really want to know about him?" I asked.

Sophie gave me a sarcastic look. "Are you kidding me? I've only been pumping you for info the last ten minutes!"

"Well," I said. I had no idea where to begin. I needed to tell her about him, without letting her in on the key details, like the fur. "He's honestly the kindest person I've ever met. He always pays attention to things, not like some imbecilic guys, like in movies. He treats me like…" I trailed off.

"Like what?" Sophie blurted eagerly. She was such a gossipmonger.

"Like I'm special. You know, pretty, smart, funny, nice, the whole enchilada."

"But you are," Sophie insisted. Jeez, the kid was really nice when she wasn't going through an early onset of teen angst.

I raised one eyebrow at her. "You're the best, Soph, but you don't really have to make me feel better."

"Okay, you're obviously not going to listen to me, so I'm out. The new episode of _Secret Life of the American Teenager_'s on and I don't want to miss it because I'm trying to fix some lame self-esteem problem of yours." She shook my arm off. Ah, she's back. The Sophie I know and love. Right.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Do you have multiple personalities or something?"

"You caught me. See ya." She breezed out the door in a fashion I'd thought belonged to only the most stuck-up at school. Oh crap. She was becoming one of them (insert sarcasm here).

I flopped down on my bed, grabbed my enormous backpack, and set to work with a sigh. I'd rather be daydreaming about Seth, or reading. Better yet, I could steal one of my mother's cheesy romance novels and do both at the same time.

I tried to keep my mind on Chemistry, Algebra, and Spanish, but I kept spacing out. Every time, I back to the forest, where I had first heard his secret. We were walking again, the quiet bond between us apparent. He kept glancing at me, when he all of a sudden… I had to stop this! I couldn't concentrate on anything today! This sucked, big time.

Then, every time I snapped myself out of my daydreams, I would remind myself how undeserving of Seth I was. I'd just shown up at the beach, and wham! : found the most amazing guy I had ever met. All he got out of the deal was an invisible bond that left him powerless. In the real world, without all the freaky wolf stuff, he'd be far out of my league. We were just too opposite to really be compatible. Leah was right.

But then, if all that was really true, then why did I feel so much for him? If I broke up with him, I'd break both of our hearts. Maybe I was doing the right thing.

I shook my head, trying to clear it. This homework was obviously a lost cause. I needed to try, though: force of habit. I'd always fulfilled my obligations as soon as I could get them over with.

Later that night, I tossed and turned even more than I had the night I found out about the existence of wolves and vampires. I was exhausted, both physically and mentally, but my mind kept racing, preventing me from getting any sleep. It seemed like I was trapped. If I stayed with Seth, it would be immensely unfair to him. If I left, we'd both suffer.

I knew that the choice I'd made was incredibly selfish. I'd always had a problem with indecision. I told myself that my decision was made, and that I was going to stick to it, hoping that it would allow me to get some sleep. It didn't.

I awoke the next morning even more tired than I had been the night before. I never remembered falling asleep, my overtired mind and body must've crashed. I groaned. At least it was Friday. I thought I could handle one more day of school.

I glanced in the mirror. Holy shitake mushrooms! I looked like I'd slept in a torture chamber. My eyes were puffy and distinctly purple, my skin looked completely washed out, my hair was a frizzy mess, and I could barely keep my eyes open, even with the horrific sight in the mirror.

I'd never been a beauty, but this was ridiculous. Sophie walked over to the mirror to apply her make-up.

"What happened to you?" she asked, horrified.

"Couldn't sleep," I croaked in a dry, tired voice.

I staggered to my dresser, put on the first things in the drawer, and slid down the stairs on my butt.

"Move it, Haley, you're going too slowly," Dan glared at my back. He was trying to get down the stairs too, apparently. Too bad for him, I had one speed this morning: snail.

I didn't bother eating breakfast. I was too tired to be hungry, and I didn't even know that was possible.

"How late did you stay up reading?" my mom asked. That would have made me laugh if laughing didn't take so much precious energy. I certainly did stay up too late reading sometimes. Most days, she would've hit the nail on the head. She always knew when I'd stayed up too late.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "Won't do it again."

My mom rolled her eyes as if to say _Well, that's Haley._ I resisted the urge to roll my own eyes at her.

Sophie and Chris had to practically drag me to the bus stop after breakfast. The rain woke me up somewhat. There's something rejuvenating about standing outside in the cold rain. I took my hood down and let the rain fall on my face, trying to wake myself up before I got to school.

It didn't work. The feeling of being recharged was short lasting, by the time I stepped off the bus, I was almost back to my old practically catatonic state from earlier and my energy was draining fast. I had very little tolerance for sleep deprivation.

I headed for my first class. I planned on getting a seat as far away from the teacher as possible and avoiding being called on for answers. For the most part, it worked. I tried to focus my attention on writing everything I could down, since my listening skills were not quite up to snuff at the moment. I never raised my hand and tried to raise my head as infrequently as possible.

All of this took more energy than I'd thought it would. By the time I got to Spanish, I was completely deadbeat. I must've gotten maybe an hour of sleep last night. I had to at least close my eyes. It was so peaceful. Even with my chin resting in my hand, I was as comfortable as if I were lying in the softest of beds.

I was awakened by a quick, but loud, tap on my desk.

"¿Por qué usted està dormiendo? demanded the teacher, a small middle-aged woman with mousy brown hair.

"Parce que j'ai sommeil," I said sleepily. I sat up with a jolt. Oh no! I'd slept in class, pissed off the teacher, and now I'd just answered her question in French. I was doomed. I was dead meat. Though I had a bit of an excuse for French/Spanish mix-up. The word for _sleep_ sounded really similar in both languages.

The teacher looked at me strangely, then got back to teaching. I opened my eyes as wide as they would go and tried to take notes as diligently as I could.

I went to my usual lunch table and put my head on the table. I was not getting up until the end of the period. No one could make me.

"Haley, are you okay?" I heard Allie say.

"Uh-huh." I didn't feel like using real words at the moment. Allie was a really nice, caring girl, but I didn't feel like talking to anybody right now.

Mason butted in, "Hey! Haley! Time to wake up!" I felt him tap my shoulder. I made no response.

"Hay! You alive in there? Do I have to get the nurse?" He pulled my head slightly off the table.

"Get off," I grumbled. "Please, I really will need to be taken to the nurse if I don't get some sleep. I'll collapse or something."

Cassie elbowed Mason. "I think you might want to put her down, now."

Mason grinned like the Cheshire cat and let go of the shoulder he was holding on to.

"Thanks," I mumbled, barely audible. The din around me seemed to get quieter than usual, until suddenly, I wasn't in the cafeteria of Forks High School anymore.

Seth was there. We were at First Beach at La Push. Miracle of miracles, the skies were marvelously clear, and I could see the blue of the sky marvelously reflected off the glassy surface of the water. All the colors seemed less subdued, brighter in the sun.

But even the sun's rays couldn't compare with the look Seth was giving me. He was smiling, beaming, like it was the best day of his life. His bright smile was directed at me. No, it was burning right through me. I thought I might collapse again, like I did that day in the woods. He leaned in to kiss me…

I was shaken gently awake. "Haley. Haley, wake up. You're going to be late. Come on Haley." It was Allie. I couldn't believe that she's stuck around to wake me up. I slept like a log, and logs don't often wake up.

"Thanks, I'm up," I said. I pushed myself to my feet, using the cafeteria table as support. "Did I snore?"

Allie laughed and shook her head. "No, you sleep like the dead."

I grinned. "When I'm asleep, I'm dead to most of the world. Be proud that you were able to wake me up. Not many people can."

Even though I couldn't have gotten more than half an hour of sleep, the rest of my day went more smoothly. I knew my batteries were running low, but at least I wasn't running on empty anymore.

I heaved myself onto the bus and waited for it to start. When it finally did, with a rumble that showcased exactly how old the contraptions were, I leaned against my window and looked out.

It might have been my imagination, wishful thinking, or even just sleep deprivation, but I could've sworn that I saw a flash of a sand-colored animal through the trees. I smiled to myself before getting off the bus, entering my house, climbing up the stairs and crumpling onto my bed. I stayed there until the next morning.

**Note: For those of you who don't speak Spanish or French. The first line (in Spanish) means "Why are you sleeping?" and the second line (in French) means "Because I'm tired." **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello. The weekend has come again and that means (for me at least) late nights spent reading and writing fanfiction. Because I can. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.**

**Last time:**

**It might have been my imagination, wishful thinking, or even just sleep deprivation, but I could've sworn that I saw a flash of a sand-colored animal through the trees. I smiled to myself before getting off the bus, entering my house, climbing up the stairs and crumpling onto my bed. I stayed there until the next morning.**

I jumped out of bed the moment I was fully conscious. I glanced over at my clock. Nine-thirty, fairly normal for me. Maybe now my sleep schedule would go back so I wouldn't have to suffer through school.

I knew I was being sort of pathetic, and that pretty much all of my social life was starting to revolve around Seth, but I'd never had much of one to begin with. I was excited nevertheless.

I loved spending time with Seth, but I would have been lying to myself if I hadn't acknowledged that at least part of my want to see him was to stop the two parts of my mind, the part that knew I wasn't good for him and the larger part that wanted to stay with him anyway, from doing battle.

Seeing his beautiful, smiling face, smiling because he was so happy to see me, alleviated the constant warfare in my mind. When he was with me, I didn't feel so bad about depriving him of something.

I walked down the stairs, past the living room, where I could hear Chris and Dan fighting over the remote, and into the kitchen. I poured myself a large bowl of sugar cereal, the type that my brothers generally scarfed, because I was so hungry from missing dinner.

I carried my bowl over to the table, trying not to spill milk on the floor. As I ate, I looked out the window and saw that it was raining. Big surprise. This rain was heavier than normal, and seemed to cast a gloomy cloud over the day. I could barely make out the forest; the normally bright green seemed so washed-out and far away. I couldn't have made out an individual tree if I'd tried.

The rain slammed onto the roof like a drummer in a rock band. It was almost deafening, but as I slipped into another daydream I felt myself tuning it out. We were sitting in his mother's car this time, looking at each other over the center console. Well that is, I was looking; he was _looking_: that special gaze he reserved for me alone.

I was shaken out of my daze when my dad walked into the room, looking cheerful. I wondered why, with this weather. He poured a bowl of sugar cereal for himself too (breakfast of champions) and sat down next to me at the table.

"Morning," I mumbled around my mouthful of now-soggy cereal. It's harder than it looks to eat and dream at the same time. Multitasking was overrated.

Dad looked up from the sports section of the paper he was looking at so carefully. That explained why he looked so cheerful, someone must have won something. Or maybe someone had lost something. It basically all boiled down to every male in my family being a sports fanatic.

"Good morning, are you doing anything fun today?" he asked jovially. Rats. If I told him, he'd be prepared this time around. I pictured something along the lines of the Spanish Inquisition.

"Yes. I'm going into Port Angeles. I was planning on seeing a movie."

"Who're you going with?" My dad looked suspicious.

"Remember Seth?" I edged cautiously. Who was I kidding? Of course he remembered Seth. He wasn't exactly easy to miss, plus he was the only guy to have ever asked me out, a fact that most likely did not endear him to my father.

He paused, and then evidently decided he wasn't going to get into anything with me. He had nothing on either Seth or me that he could lodge a complaint against. Well, he could've said something about Seth looking too old for me, or something, but I'd already told him his real age. Even if he sometimes looked like he was in his twenties, Seth was still only a year older than me.

He turned back to his paper and I left as soon as possible. I'd gone about two feet out of the room before Sophie practically attacked me.

"You're going on another date tonight!" Sophie almost screeched. She really had to work on that eavesdropping problem.

"Ye-es," I drew out the word, managing to sound both bored and insolent.

"Please, please, please let me pick out your outfit!" she pleaded.

I sighed. She was obviously never going to be happy until I let her. It was also fairly clear to me that I wouldn't be wearing anything I wouldn't like, anyway. She couldn't go awry in my distinctly non-trendy closet, and none of her clothes would fit me.

"Okay," I said in my best martyr fashion. "Do your worst."

She squealed. Honestly, this girl was pep squad material, and those girls scared me.

"Go. Go take a shower, or something. I'm going to go look through your stuff!" She certainly looked pleased with herself.

"Soph," I protested, "it's not even ten yet, and we're not going anywhere until five."

"Yeah, but I really wanna do it now! And isn't five kinda early?"

"It apparently takes an hour to get to the theatre from this isolated piece of civilization. And fine, but I get veto power on anything you choose."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just go."

I shook my head as I went up the stairs, wondering why I was taking orders from my little sister. I entered the bathroom and turned the water on, letting it heat up.

After I stepped out, I walked over to the sink and wiped some of the fog from the mirror. I inspected my face, wondering what Seth saw in me. I wasn't ugly, but there was nothing at all remarkable in my features. I had an oval-shaped face with dark green eyes, a ton of freckles, slightly too thin lips, and a slightly too prominent nose. My hair was long, thick, and dead straight, chestnut brown.

I walked back into Sophie's and my room. Of course, Sophie had an entire outfit, including accessories, spread out on her bed.

"Soph, those are going to get cat hair on them," I said, raising my eyebrow at her.

"Whatever, just come over here and look at them. That's what lint rollers are for."

I walked over to her bed, expecting the worst. "A skirt? Sophia, have you looked outside? It is very clearly pants weather." Actually, it was more like rain-pants weather, but I didn't have any of those. I might have to get some with the climate around here, though.

"Okay, okay," she grumbled. She hung the skirt back in our closet with practiced movements, and came up with a pair of jeans. I reexamined the outfit. Blue top, white camisole, dark jeans. I could deal with that, especially now that the skirt was out of the equation.

I turbaned my hair with the towel and put on the requisite clothing. Sophie looked incredibly pleased with herself.

"Oh! Can I blow out your hair?" she squealed.

"Do you want to point a blow dryer at my head for half an hour?" I asked rhetorically. I wasn't exaggerating either, as she well knew. My hair was just that thick.

"Like you have anything better to do," she shot back. Without waiting for confirmation, she grabbed the hair dryer, and, wielding it like a weapon, proceeded with the dauntingly slow task of drying my hair.

After a few hours had gone by, even Sophie had run out of things to suggest to me, many of which I'd flatly refused. Face mask, anyone? I was completely polished; Sophie was starting to really scare me with her precision in the makeover field.

When she was finally done, I proved that underneath the make-up and nail polish I was the same person. I made myself a sandwich, while I read. It was a talent I had cultivated over the years.

The book I was reading managed to keep me from thinking too hard while I waited for Seth to come. I curled up on a couch and wasted away several relaxing hours.

All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. I glanced at the clock. It was a few minutes after five. Wow, punctual. I leaped up and almost sprinted to the door. I was too late.

My father, all five feet nine inches of him, was staring up at Seth. Here we go again.

"Why don't you come in?" he said, trying to look friendly and intimidating at the same time, a look that he couldn't pull off.

Seth, of course, agreed good-naturedly and walked into my house. As if things weren't already embarrassing enough for me, my brothers chose that moment to reappear from their video games. They stopped when they saw Seth and looked up.

"Dude, do you play basketball?" asked Dan.

"No," Seth said, unfazed. "I don't really play sports."

"Guys!" I hissed. "Please?"

"Who are you anyway?" Chris demanded.

Just then, Sophie chose the worst moment possible to appear. "That's Seth, Haley's boyfriend," she said. Very smart allecky of her. I'd thought she was on my side, but apparently she was just on the side that allowed her to have more fun.

Seth didn't seem to mind the use of the word 'boyfriend' though. Truth be told, I think he looked even happier at the mention of it. My dad didn't.

Then my mom made her appearance, possibly the only one of the Adams family who was normal, probably because she only married in. I breathed a sigh of relief.

She stuck her hand out and shook Seth's. "It's nice to meet you, Seth." She smiled again charmingly.

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Adams," he said.

"Call me Linda," she replied. "Mrs. Adams is my mother-in-law."

"Maybe we better go," I offered. "Don't want to miss the movie." I sounded fake to my own ears. I just wanted to get out of there.

"Sure," Seth said. He glanced at me, seeming to sense my awkwardness. "You ready?"

"Yep," answered, trying not to sound too relieved.

I turned back as we walked out the door. My entire family stood assembled like they were standing sentinel. My mom gave me the thumbs up and mouthed, "He's cute!"

I smirked and shrugged my shoulders. This was already starting to get less awkward. Hopefully, I wouldn't be hitting a plateau anytime soon.

"Are you okay?" asked Seth once we were in the car, his family's again.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just not used to them being in my personal life. The whole meet the boyfriend thing's never really come up."

"You mean you've never dated anyone before?" Seth looked surprised. I didn't remember this question in the "getting to know you" talk on the beach where we'd first met.

"No," I looked down. He was looking at me incredulously. I had no idea why. Then again, he wasn't affected by the weird anti-boy vibe that I seemed to unknowingly give off. Not that it mattered now.

"No one?"

"Nope. Have you?" I asked. I was trying to get the spotlight off of me. Then again, because of the whole imprinting thing, I doubted that would happen.

"No, never seemed to be much point. We're not allowed to tell anyone outside of immediate family who already know that the legends are true, and imprints. It would be sort of weird to not be able to tell a person you're going out with that you're a wolf. I won't have to worry about that now, though." He smiled and I grinned back. My mind was blissfully empty of the guilt at the back of my mind most of the time. Even if he didn't have that strong attraction for me, that would've been enough reason to be around him.

"I see your point. So, um, how is your family?" Pathetic conversation topic, bravo!

"They're great. I think my mom's on a date with Charlie Swan, the police chief. He's Nessie's grandfather, if you remember her. The half-vampire?"

The details of the story he'd told me in the woods came flooding back to me. It seemed incredibly far-fetched. A girl falling in love with a vampire and a werewolf, choosing the vampire, having a supposedly impossible baby with said vampire, and having the werewolf imprint on the kid. Then having some vampire royalty come in and try to kill them all. Now I was supposed to believe that some small-town cop was involved in this, too. Wow, my life was getting complicated.

"Yeah, and her mother is Chief Swan's daughter Bella?" I said for clarification.

I was regaled with Marvelous Wolf and Vampire Adventures during the rest of the car ride. Honestly this stuff was so unbelievable, they could make a best-selling book out of it.

Before I knew it, we'd pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater in Port Angeles. That was fast.

Seth appeared at the passenger door and took my hand. I knew one thing; I was never going to suffer cold hands in the winter when I was with him. "Let's go," he suggested, and we walked hand in hand to the ticket booth.


	9. Chapter 9

**I always swore I would never become one of those desperate for reviews begging authors, but seriously. This story's had over a thousand hits this month. Could you please take one minute and let me know what you think? Pretty please with whipped cream on top? I would also like to thank my sister for inspiring the character of Sophie, who's become surprisingly popular (among reviewers, at least), and my friends who are reading this and helping me plan my stories out (you know who you are). **

**Last time:**

**Seth appeared at the passenger door and took my hand. I knew one thing; I was never going to suffer cold hands in the winter when I was with him. "Let's go," he suggested, and we walked hand in hand to the ticket booth.**

After we'd purchased the tickets, we went to get refreshments, popcorn, and the like. Seth, of course, got two super-sized buckets of popcorn and a large soda. I declined the popcorn (I didn't have a bottomless pit for a stomach and we were going to go to dinner later) but got a small soda.

The theater was very crowded. I supposed that's what happens when you go to a recently out movie on a rainy Saturday night. It would have been ridiculous to assume anything else. I'd been expecting a scarcity of empty seats.

As we walked in, I noticed how chilly the air was in here. Why did they air condition movie theaters anyway? It's not like it was hot outside. I had a sudden urge to be a bit closer to Seth. He was so hot that I wouldn't even have to be touching him to warm up. That only explained part of the urge, though. The other part had more to do with teenage hormones.

We found two seats behind another couple. They looked like typical high school kids, out for movie night. Maybe we did too, but Seth was far from typical.

They seemed very comfortable around each other, but something seemed off about them to me. It was a few minutes before the movie started when I realized what it was. They didn't look at each other much, as I knew only too well Seth and I were wont to do. Unless you counted the boy ogling the girl's breasts, which I didn't.

The movie started after the numerous previews practically begging us to come back again. Seth wound his arm around my shoulder and I looked up at him and smiled. I leaned a bit into his side. I was right; it did warm me.

I turned back toward the movie but was distracted by the two teenagers in front of us who appeared to be trying to suck the lips off of each other. I immediately felt uncomfortable. I'd certainly gotten past my first kiss, but the act seemed so private to me, almost like it was a secret. I'd been embarrassed when my own sister saw me! I should probably get over that.

I glanced up at Seth again. He was looking at me, too. By now, I'd pretty much been expecting it. He smiled at me and I felt less awkward. He wasn't going to do anything that made me feel uncomfortable. It was almost like he could sense what my reactions were going to be. I didn't remember that one in the list of wolf superpowers, though.

I spent the rest of the movie snuggled into his warm arm. I tried to pay attention to the movie, but missed about half of it. I was too aware of him. I decided to just laugh when I heard the rest of the audience laugh. It worked, more or less.

When the lights finally turned on, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to sit there a few more hours next to Seth. I was filled with utter contentment. But for the barely audible voice in my head telling me I shouldn't be quite so happy with Seth, that he was too good to last, the moment was perfect.

"Ready to go?" asked Seth. If it had been anyone else speaking to me at that moment, then I might've jumped. Already, even after less than two weeks, his voice sounded so familiar to my ears.

He gave me his hand as I hauled myself out of my seat. We walked back to his car and sat there for a few minutes.

"So where are we going to dinner?" I asked.

"Small restaurant in town. They get a lot of tourists there. Good burgers." He grinned as he started the car. I grinned back. A burger house tourist trap sounded like fun.

We pulled into the miniscule parking lot the restaurant (_Darla's_) shared with a coffeehouse, a bank, a post office, and a dentist's office. I got out and he walked around and took my hand.

Before I could take more than a step, he had suddenly, almost out of nowhere pulled me back to him and started kissing me like he never had before. His normally hot skin felt like it was on fire. This wasn't just kissing anymore; this was a full-fledged make-out session. It just figured that my first one would be in front of a burger place. That didn't take away from it a bit, though.

We probably looked worse than the two teenagers in the movie theater, never mind that we weren't surrounded by total darkness. The overcast sky and the fact that it was past seven helped, though. I may not have initiated the whole thing, but I can't lie and say that I didn't participate as much.

We were interrupted by the loud honk of a horn. "Hey! You kids! Get out of the way! I need that parking space!" I flushed. It seemed that I had just gotten over the kissing in public dilemma.

I looked up to see Seth smiling like a maniac. All of a sudden, I erupted into giggles. It was just funny. We hurried over to the edge of the lot, closer to where the entrance to _Darla's_ was. We stopped again. Seth took my arms in his hands. They more than covered the circumference of my upper arms.

"Haley, listen. I know I've known you for only a very short time but… I love you."

My mouth dropped. No way. No freaking way. Maybe I should've seen this coming, what with the imprinting and the true love speech and everything, but there was a part of me that kept denying everything. I didn't believe it. I knew I loved him but… Wait, I loved him? Where did that come from? What Leah had said came flooding back to me.

_Sickening to watch… He's already changed because of you… You guys don't have anything in common… He's trying to change himself._

I was sickened. I felt like I was going to throw up or cry, or both. I couldn't deny the truth of any of these statements. I'd been pushing it away and letting Seth's presence push it away for me, but now it was right there and could not be ignored. I needed to… stop before I hurt us both. There was no way this could work out.

"Haley, Haley? What's wrong? Are you all right?" A voice sounded from what seemed like very far away. I brought myself back to the present and found that tears were running down my cheeks.

"I didn't mean to freak you out. Did I say something too soon? I don't want to rush you into anything…"

I interrupted him. "No, it's nothing you did, it's what I did." I couldn't look up, couldn't meet his dark, intense eyes.

"You couldn't have done anything." His voice sounded so sure, but what did he know? His judgment was warped.

"You and I, we just can't work. I feel so bad for making you lose your will where I'm concerned. We don't have anything in common. And I'm just not good enough for you! You deserve someone as wonderful as you are…"

"But you're more…"

"No! I'm not! I'm just the random girl you imprinted on who's taken away all your choices! You think I'm so amazing but I'm not!"

"But…"

"No. No one else had any free choice. You all have to do what your damn imprint wants! I'm giving you your choice back. I can't live with taking that away from you, no matter how much I lo-…" I cut myself off abruptly. No need to make this harder. "Listen, we probably wouldn't have worked out anyway. We're just too opposite. I'm just speeding up the process. Win-win situation." I ducked my head back down. I'd never before noticed how interesting my shoes were.

Seth lifted my chin up with two fingers, forcing me to look him it the eyes. Once I did, I couldn't have looked away if I tried. He was doing that _looking _thing again, right when I was trying to enforce some tough love. This would make it harder, but I could hold out. I was stubborn as a mule. It would be better for him without me, never mind that without him I'd never find someone and end up being a crazy old lady with a few cats. That had been my backup plan before I met Seth, anyway.

"I'll go if you really want me to," he said, looking a bit skeptical. He'd heard me almost say 'love'. Of course he had, he wasn't stupid, far from it. "I'll drive you straight home and not say a word, but please, come with me. I think I can… convince you, show you my side of things. Give me a chance, please. I don't know what I'd do without you."

I was conflicted. I tried to tell myself to just go home and let him get on with his vampire-butt-kicking life. I tried to tell myself that it was all for the best. I failed. I tried to reason that I should hear his part, that it would be rude not to. I didn't fool the bigger half of me that just wanted to be near him for a little longer, and that was a half step away from caving.

"Okay," I whispered, barely audible. I was toast. I was burnt toast. So much for being stubborn as a mule. My resolve was failing faster by the minute.

Seth's arm was around my waist as we walked in the door, his hand slightly stroking my back. Even when I had tried to leave him, he still cared so much about me.

The middle-aged hostess looked a bit shocked when she saw my tearstained face and looked at Seth in alarm, as if he had done something to make me cry or was abusive. I smiled weakly and just barely shook my head, unconsciously leaning into Seth, as though he were shielding me from the humiliation of being seen with eyes and nose as red as cherries.

She led us to a cozy booth and shot a sympathetic look at me before telling us that our server would be out shortly. Seth looked my directly in the eyes. "May I start?" he asked.

I nodded.

"I guess I didn't explain imprinting enough. The thing is, you matter so much to me, that I wouldn't take back any 'choice' if it were offered to me. Second, imprinting always works out. Wolves and imprints generally end up spending happy lives together, get married, have a few kids, grow old together… Not to freak you out or anything," he added hastily. I shrugged and said nothing.

"Okay, and third, you can say we're opposite all you want but there's an underlying similarity between us. There always is. It's like we were made for each other. Anything you can come up with to try to convince we that we're too different is going to be superficial compared to it.

"Just please don't go. You're brilliant and amazing and breathtaking and, well, I could go on for ages. Just please don't give up on me just because you think we aren't a good match. I really do love you. I'm one of the only guys who can talk about love at first sight and mean it." Wow did he know how to be eloquent! He seriously made that up on the spot? I had to focus.

"But I don't want to change anything about you. I don't want you to be different because of me," I brought up my last point, the one he had failed to address. The one that Leah had stressed, and the one that had kept me up late at night.

"Haley, change just happens. No one can help it. I swear that anything that's changed about me since I met you has been for the better and has made me happy. And who told you I changed. You didn't know me."

I sat in silence and looked at the tabletop. Then, at the best possible time, the waitress came up to our table. She plopped the menus down on the table and said, "Hello, I'm Sarah and I'll be your server tonight. Anything to drink?" I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he'd forget his question. I didn't want to out Leah.

"I'll have a root beer," said Seth. I stared down at the beverages section of the menu.

"Can I get a diet coke?" I asked.

"Sure," she said, before bustling off like she would rather be anywhere but here.

He jumped right back in without hesitation. "Who said that? Was it someone in one of the packs?"

I stared right back into his eyes, trying to tell him telepathically that he really didn't want to know. It didn't work.

"Embry, Paul, Jared, Jake, Leah…" He started listing out names and stopped at Leah's name. Maybe I had inadvertently flinched, or maybe he had taken up mind reading, but he seemed to know immediately.

"Leah didn't mean anything by it, I'm sure. She's always been kind of protective. She followed me into Jake's pack and everything. I think she might be kind of jealous, too. You've been imprinted on and she thinks she's never going to imprint because she's the only girl wolf ever. Don't listen to her when she talks like that. She's gotten a lot better since she stopped sharing Sam's mind but she's still kind of… well, bitter's the only way to say it, really. Just don't tell her I said that."

I studied Seth's face. He looked incredibly sincere, and I had a hunch that he wouldn't lie to me, anyway. "Oh," was all I could make come out of my mouth. I felt like a fool, but at least my intentions had been good.

"Oh?" Seth questioned. "Did that help at all?"

I really didn't know how to handle this moment, so I resorted to an old favorite of mine: sarcasm. "It would've helped more if I'd found out a few days ago. Honestly, you guys need to type up all these details and give it to the next person who's imprinted on. It may help prevent stuff like this."

"I don't know if any more of them are going to imprint. It's supposed to be rare, according to the legends, anyway."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Over half of the pack has imprinted. That doesn't sound rare to me."

"Maybe they're wrong then. I guess we'll have to wait and find out."

The waitress came by with our sodas and an aggravated sigh. Apparently she didn't like her job all that much.

"So you've decided against leaving for our own good?" he asked. He looked so hopeful. If my mind wasn't already made up, the look on his face would've done it.

"Yes. Seth, I love you. I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner." This time it was me who leaned over toward him to kiss him.

_Well, Leah_ I said to myself. _Seth and me, I guess we're not as opposite as we thought._


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to you people who reviewed my last chapter. As a side note, I've started another story because the idea was stuck in my mind and wouldn't get out. It's called **_**Vitality**_** and is basically about the life of a vampire half-breed named Tali who killed her mother in childbirth. Read it. I would now like to give a random shout-out to Height! You rock! **

**P.s. Sorry for the long author's note. REVIEW!**

**Last time:**

"**Yes. Seth, I love you. I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner." This time it was me who leaned over toward him to kiss him.**

_**Well, Leah**_** I said to myself. **_**Seth and me, I guess we're not as opposite as we thought.**_

I heard someone clearing his or her throat, a common enough sound at a restaurant. I ignored it. I was fairly certain that Seth did too. The sound became a little louder. Someone must have a bad cold or something.

A voice came from near the table, "Come on, I have enough work to do without having to wait for two sexually frustrated teenagers to finish trying to swallow each other." I froze and looked in that direction. The waitress was back.

I blushed. I glanced at Seth but he seemed to be finding the situation more amusing than embarrassing. Boys.

"So're you ready to order or what?" the waitress demanded. I got the feeling that if _Darla's _was even one iota classier, the woman would've been fired.

The rest of the night was pure bliss. We talked, we made jokes, we stared at each other a lot, truth be told.

I had a small, albeit greasy, hamburger. I gave Seth the fries. He needed them more than I did.

"You sure?" he asked. "You're not still hungry? You didn't have any popcorn at the theater."

"I'm sure," I said. "Not everyone burns through their food as fast as you seem to."

He grinned apologetically before reaching over to my plate and dunking a fry in ketchup.

"What are vampires like?" I asked quietly. This question had been bugging me for some time. I was paranoid; I'd admit it. I supposed I wanted to know so that if I saw one I could run in the opposite direction, not that it would do me much good.

"Well, you heard the legends. They're pretty much like that: fast, strong, and deadly. Look like supermodels too. Some of 'em are nomadic. They travel around, drink human blood as they go." I shivered involuntarily.

"Some of them are good, though. I mean; the Cullen's live right in Forks. We go there a lot now that Jake's imprinted on Nessie. We fought together against some newborn vampire army and would've fought against that vampire royalty if Alice hadn't come in time."

"Who's she?" I asked. I was starting to feel like I was interrogating him. I pressed on, though. I felt like I needed to know more about this new world I'd been unwittingly thrust into.

"She's one of them. Really small, perky, and she's psychic."

"Psychic?" I asked incredulously.

"Some of them have extra powers," I nodded, no reason not to make vampires even _more_ lethal. "Edward (Nessie's father) can read minds, Bella (her mother) can do this creepy force field thing that blocks mind powers, Jasper can read and change emotions, and Nessie can let you see what she's thinking if she puts her hand on your face."

I blinked. Well, this wasn't too weird at all. I was sitting in a tourist trap, polishing off a burger, talking to my werewolf boyfriend about his vampire friends. I suddenly had the bizarre desire to laugh.

"Do you think maybe I could meet them sometime?" I asked timidly. Way to invite myself along. Did I have no manners? Not to mention shame. I just had a type of morbid curiosity to see vampires in the flesh…if they even had flesh. It was sort of like the feeling I got when I wanted to see a movie that I knew was going to give me nightmares.

"Sure. We were probably going to stop by tomorrow. I could pick you up if you want."

Oh my goodness he was so sweet. Man had I lucked out. I felt a quick rush of pain and shame that I'd just tried to end things with him, never mind that I'd had good intentions. I had single-handedly tried to separate myself from the single best thing that had ever happened to me.

I shook the feeling off. I could berate myself later. Actually, maybe I shouldn't. Beating myself up was what had gotten me into the mess in the first place.

"Okay. I'm turning sixteen in two months, though. I'll be getting my license. Then you won't have to drive me everywhere." I smirked.

"I actually wasn't thinking of driving there. Ever been wolf-back riding?" he grinned like someone had told him Christmas was coming early.

Well. Didn't see that one coming. I slowly absorbed the idea, picturing in my head the gargantuan wolf that I had seen that day in the forest. I remembered how fast that wolf could run. I put on a brave smile. I'd probably go skydiving if Seth asked me. I wasn't afraid of speed, it would probably be kind of fun.

"Not that I can recall," I joked. "Well, there's a first time for everything." I rolled my eyes, making fun of myself.

Seth chuckled. The waitress came back up to the table. "Glad to see you've got your hormones back under control again. Ready for the check?"

"Sure," he said. The waitress left momentarily.

"I'll get it," I said. "You paid for the movie." I reached for my wallet.

"Don't," he insisted. "I want to do this."

I recalled that intense look of his, the one that occasionally made me weak at the knees. It couldn't hurt to try. My eyes met his. I knew my gaze wasn't nearly as penetrating as his was, people can profess that green eyes are pretty, but they just don't have the power of dark brown ones.

It worked anyway. He actually looked a bit stunned. Score! "Please let me." I said quietly, not breaking eye contact.

"If you really want to," he said, smirking. Jeez, he did it right back.

The grumpy waitress came back to the table and slammed the check down. I unfolded the scruffy wallet; I'd had it since about the sixth grade, and took out several bills. Seth glanced at what was on the table.

"I can cover the tip," he offered. Dang. The tip. I'd completely forgotten.

"Here's a tip for her, she should be politer to paying customers," I joked. It was pretty pathetic, but he cracked up. It gave me just enough time to calculate a fifteen percent tip and place it on the table before he could.

"No fair," he complained, but the tone in his voice and the look on his face contradicted his words. He didn't have anything that he wanted to complain about.

"Tough," I said cheekily. This was considered flirting, right? I wasn't sure, and quite frankly didn't care.

She came back a moment later, now looking more stressed than sarcastic. I glanced around. The place was twice as packed as it had been when we'd first arrived. I felt a pang of sympathy for her. She'd embarrassed me, sure, but it was just in front of Seth, who seemed to not care at all. Working at _Darla's_ was far from anyone's dream job. She was actually kind of pretty, now that I looked at her, and probably in her mid-thirties. I handed her the menu with a smile, feeling a bit guilty about saying rude things behind her back.

Seth noticed, and smiled threefold at me when we got up from the table. I inconspicuously reached into my pocket and placed another five-dollar bill on the table. It was kind of pathetic, five bucks didn't buy anything anymore, but it was all I could really think of and it might help build my karma back up after almost dumping Seth. That had to be a karma lower-er if anything was.

I sat silently in the car, more appreciative of his presence than I had ever been before. I had almost lost it, purposefully. He didn't try to talk either; some things went too deep for words.

I alternated between looking at him and looking at the stars. I used to think nothing was more sparkling and ethereal than the stars. That was before I'd seen Seth's eyes.

He pulled up in front of my house. I didn't make any move to get out.

"Seth," I said quietly. He nodded slightly, he's turned toward me the second the car had stopped.

"I'm sorry. I can't even begin to say how sorry I am. I jumped to all sorts of conclusions and was just so insensitive. I…" but I didn't get to finish my sentence. Seth had cupped my face in his hand and was stroking it softly with his thumb.

"Stop, Haley. Please, don't blame yourself. I didn't do a good job of explaining things and you thought what anyone would think. You underestimated the freaky wolf ability thing. It's not a problem. The problem was that I almost lost you. I don't want that to happen again. I don't know what I'd do." He chuckled to himself. "Maybe we should consider typing up the specifics of imprinting. Would probably come in handy."

"I told you so," I whispered. I couldn't make my voice sound at any higher volume.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow?" Seth asked. I found it a bit funny. Could he possibly expect me to say no? He just had some common courtesy.

"I think I'll manage to clear my schedule," I squeaked out. Sarcasm again. I was in rare form tonight.

I wrapped my arms around him. Even sitting down, I only came up to his chest. He stroked my hair as if he knew that I'd almost made the biggest mistake of my life and wanted to just hold onto him for a moment longer before having to let go, if only for a few hours.

I got out of the car and onto my doorstep, and watched him drive off. I walked slowly up the stairs to my room. I glanced in the mirror. Typical. My hard-to-manage hair was completely wild and tangled. Presumably from the little make-out fest. Sophie eyed me from the other side of the room. She looked like she was about to laugh, and possibly pump me for details.

Maybe I was right earlier and I didn't deserve Seth. I wasn't going to dwell on that anymore, because he definitely deserved the happiness that being with me inexplicably brought him. I was going to (attempt to) let go of my insecurities and enjoy the blessing life had handed me. Him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Boy do I love snow days! I'm sorry it took me so long to put this chapter up. I do have a life (okay, I lie. I don't.). Oh, and if anyone wants to do me a favor, one of my friends has some weird vendetta against Twilight. I told him about this fanfic and how much I like writing and how it's becoming semi-successful. His reply? "That's not very successful. I've seen stories with way more reviews than that." Want to prove him wrong? Review!**

**Last time:**

**Maybe I was right earlier and I didn't deserve Seth. I wasn't going to dwell on that anymore, because he definitely deserved the happiness that being with me inexplicably brought him. I was going to (attempt to) let go of my insecurities and enjoy the blessing life had handed me. Him.**

I woke up the next morning (okay afternoon) surprisingly well rested. I glanced at my clock and, quite typically, panicked. I had less than an hour before Seth was coming over.

I leaped out of bed and into the shower. I just had to choose today to sleep in until one o'clock.

Last night, Sophie had practically tackled me in her efforts to find out exactly what had gone down earlier. I felt almost sorry for the busybody. I wasn't exactly able to tell her anything without spilling the secret. I had filled her in on the movie and the name of the restaurant.

She had practically had a conniption fit. She was able to deduce a bit more from my appearance, however, even though I had hastened to brush my hair. A bit too smart for her own good, that one.

I stumbled out of the shower and into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved tee shirt. It looked, well not sunny, but not rainy today. It must have rained out yesterday. This slightly overcast sky was a definite improvement. I dressed for the September day it was, or at least the way I would have in good old MA.

As I combed out my wet hair, Sophie popped in the room. She took a look at me and raised her eyebrows. I raised one back at her. "What?" I asked.

"Where're you going?" she asked innocently. Too innocently.

"Out," I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"You're spending a lot of time with this guy. You haven't even known him that long. You think that's healthy?"

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Where do you even hear this stuff Dr. Phyllis?"

"TV," she shrugged. I shook my head silently and put the comb down.

"That stuff really is rotting kids' minds." I gave her a playful shove.

She shot me a look, the kind that seemed to say _Oh, the things I put up with._ She was actually pretty good at it too.

I followed her down the stairs, noticing that I only had a few minutes to grab something to eat before going over to _their_ house. I doubted they'd have anything I really wanted to eat there. Eww, gross thought.

I slid some bread into the toaster and grabbed a jar of peanut butter from a cupboard. Sophie stared at me, he hazel eyes serious. "What now?" I asked.

"Just be careful," she said. "I can't explain it, I mean he seems nice and all, but I'm getting a weird vibe off of him."

I stared right back at her, dumbfounded. Was she just paranoid? Was she imagining things? Did it have something to do with Seth's being a wolf? Was I freaking out over nothing? The last one seemed probable.

"Okay," I said. I had no intention of following her suggestions but she had good intentions nevertheless.

"Just because you're a geek doesn't mean you're protected from creepy people, Haley. Be serious."

I snorted. "First of all, Soph, Seth is not creepy! Second of all, I'm not a geek!"

"Yes you are."

I considered her statement. "Okay, so I am but you don't have to say it!"

"Truth hurts." She smirked. "I think your toast is burning."

"What?" I whirled around and popped the charred pieces of bread out of the toaster. "Dang it!" I held it over the sink and started scraping off the worst burned bits off with a knife. Sophie stifled a giggle. I glared at her.

"Don't you have some TV show you're supposed to be watching right now?"

"Probably, but this is much more entertaining."

I spread some peanut butter on the bread and carried it to the table. I sat down and Sophie followed me.

"Aren't you kind of old to be playing copycat?" I demanded.

"Nope. Don't talk with your mouth full," she reprimanded. When did she start turning into Mom?

I scarfed down the toast and a glass of water to get rid of the peanut butter that was sticking to the roof of my mouth.

I put the dishes in the sink and walked into the living room. Watching TV was unfortunately out, since Chris and Dan were playing some sports-based video game. This was so typical of them I didn't even bother making a note of it, I just sat down and waited, trying to ignore the computerized cheers and cheesy music.

The doorbell rang and I jumped up off the couch like someone had electrocuted me. I grabbed the door before Sophie could (yes she had followed me. When was this going to end?) and peered outside. No one was there.

"You can go back in now, Sophie," I hinted. She shrugged and went back to the living room, shooting me a look that made it very clear that she thought I was crazy. Maybe I was, but I got the feeling someone was out here.

I ambled around in front of the house for a few minutes before I heard a rustling noise coming from the woods. I circled the house and glanced over the landscape in front of me. All I saw was green. Did I need a stronger glasses prescription?

All of a sudden, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind. I jumped and turned around. It was Leah, looking kind of mangy in a wrinkled pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Her hair looked incredibly windblown. "Hi," she said carefully.

"Where did you come from?" I asked. Where was Seth?

"The woods, you're pretty easy to sneak up on. I'm faster than the rest of them. They'll be here in about five minutes, in case you were wondering." Good to know I was that obvious.

"Oh." I had no idea what to say to her. Last time I'd seen her she was angry with me, and now she looked positively serene. Way to send mixed signals.

"Listen, I just wanted to say that I was sorry. I heard what you tried to do and I know it was my fault. I had no right to do that. I was just… jealous of you." _She _was jealous of _me?_ Jealous of her brother I could understand. Envy always happened between siblings, as I knew only too well. A thought occurred to me.

"Wait, how did you hear that? He said he wouldn't…" I broke off.

"Seth? Oh, he didn't. Pack mind, he couldn't really help it. The whole pack pretty much knows everything that goes on in each other's lives." Hmm, that made sense. I guess he wasn't to blame or anything. Wait. Did she say…?

"Everything?" I was feeling incredibly awkward at this moment. Leah grinned as if she knew exactly what was going through my mind. She'd known what was going through Seth's mind, anyway.

"Yup. Everything." She snorted. I flushed hot pink. There wasn't much I could say to that.

"But you don't have to be sorry," I tried to get back on a less embarrassing track. "You didn't tell me to do anything stupid. I overreacted." Did I ever.

"Yes, I do. Just accept it. None of it would've happened if I hadn't tried to intimidate you."

"Okay, then," I said slowly, just as a bunch of footsteps sounded behind me. I looked quickly behind me. As I'd thought, it was the rest of the pack: Jacob, Embry, Quil, and (wait for it) Seth. I had also never seen so many shirtless boys, aside from at the beach. I guessed it made sense; they had to carry their clothes around with them when they phased.

Furthermore, I had never seen so many six-packs in one place. Each and every one of them looked like a candidate for steroid testing.

I ran over to them, and practically slammed into Seth. He didn't seem to notice the impact, however and embraced me back. He lifted me up and gently pecked me on the lips. I realized I didn't care if the rest of the pack saw. They'd seen worse.

"I'm blind!" exclaimed a voice (I think it was Embry). Seth released me and shot him a dirty look.

"Yeah, I thought we'd have to wait a few years until Claire and Ness grow up before having to go through that again," Leah agreed. Jake and Quil didn't comment. I was guessing that they knew that if they did, the others would tease them worse once their imprints grew up.

I had to say though, that it was really weird to picture those two little girls grown up and in relationships with two guys who were so much older than they were. Then again, the freaky wolf magic had worked pretty well for me thus far. It was probably best to trust in it.

"If you guys are done, maybe we should get a move on," Jake hinted. I kind of agreed. I didn't much like being the center of attention.

Out of nowhere, Seth swept me up like I weighed nothing (I wished) and the whole group dashed back into the woods.

"Hey!" I protested. "A little warning?"

He laughed. "Next time. You don't go nearly as fast as us."

"I'll say," I commented.

After about two minutes, I was deposited back on firm ground. "Okay, go do your freaky morph thing," I sighed.

"Wow, you picked one with a sense of humor. How unlike you," Quil said. He ducked to avoid Seth's cuff to the back of his head.

"Stay," Seth said. I laughed.

"Aren't you guys are more closely related to canines than I am?"

Quil and Embry burst into guffaws. Seth winked at me as they ran off to get behind some trees.

A few moments later, they all came back. There was a reddish-brown one, a regular brown one, a silver one, a smaller gray one, and my favorite sandy one.

"So… how fast do you go, exactly?" I asked. A few of them made some hoarse sound that I took to be laughter.

I walked up to Seth. "Hello, again." I waggled my fingers at him. "Any particular way to…um, get on?" The wolf laughter grew louder. I was glad they were getting a kick out of this.

He lay down on his stomach, not unlike my dog (despite the variance in size). This greatly reduced the height needed to get on his back. I held on tightly around his neck. I didn't really want to pull his hair.

Wow was this weird. Then again, didn't normal boyfriends give their normal girlfriends piggyback rides sometimes? This was just a twisted version of that, right?

He let me adjust a little, probably making sure I wouldn't fall off, and then the whole pack set off. And when I say, set off, I mean like a speeding bullet sets off. This was faster than any Olympic sprinter could go. It might have been faster than some cars could go.

The wind whipped my hair around and into my mouth and eyes. The world streaked past. I saw large blurs on either side of us, so I presumed that my weight wasn't slowing him down much.

I resisted in letting out a whoop of joy. This was the biggest adrenaline rush I'd ever felt! I only didn't start screaming like I was on a roller coaster was because I had already made a laughingstock out of myself. The rest of the pack must be sick of each other's jokes because I knew mine weren't that good.

It was like the best amusement park rides in that just as it seemed it was going to last forever and I would be running into the wind on the back of a wolf for all of eternity (poetic, huh?), it stopped.

I looked beyond the trees. Yup, it was a mansion. White, old, and classic. I didn't know until I saw it that I had been expecting a dark, gothic style house with a few cobwebs, complete with coffins.

My head was spinning a little, but I managed to swing my left leg over to Seth's right side and slide down to the forest floor. I leaned against him slightly until my balance came back.

"Jake!" came an exulted cry. I looked over towards the mansion as Jessie came running at us (she was outrageously fast too, what did I expect?). She wrapped her arms around the front leg of the reddish-brown wolf. I guessed that was Jake. Two down, three to go, identity-wise.

Behind her was a dark-haired girl who appeared to be in her late teens. She was about my height, maybe a little shorter and she was drop-dead gorgeous. Then again, she'd probably had to drop dead in order to become a vampire, which, from Seth's description, I assumed she was.

"Hi Haley," said Jessie. "So he told you."

"Mom hmm." I didn't really have it in me to say much more yet. My legs were still a bit wobbly.

"Mom, this is Haley," Nessie said politely. So this was Bella. Funnily enough, I'd pictured her a bit older. She certainly didn't look like she could be Nessie's mother.

I straightened up and took a step away from Seth and the pack dashed back into the woods, most likely to phase.

"Hello, I'm Bella Cullen," said the girl. Her voice sounded ridiculously like music. She held out her hand for me to shake. It was icy cold.

"Haley Adams," I said. "Nice to meet you."

Seth and Co. came back from amidst the trees. Jake and Bella hugged.

"So what'd you think," Seth asked, putting his arm around me.

"That you could put amusement parks out of business," I said. "That was wicked."

"I try," he said. "Come on they're heading in."

Once inside the house (ah hem, mansion) I was subjected to more cold handshakes. I may have been picturing Dracula before, but everyone here looked as if they'd stepped out of the pages of an airbrushed fashion magazine. Actually, they put the airbrushed models to shame.

A small, waif-like girl practically pranced up to us to shake my hand. "Hi, I'm Alice. You don't have to be scared of us, you know." How had she known? Was I that obvious?

A cloud of calmness and tranquility seemed to settle over me. I was no longer jittery anymore. Yes, I knew that these were vampires, the monsters that gave me nightmares whenever I watched scary movies, but I no longer felt so nervous.

"Jasper!" she exclaimed, looking behind her at the tall blond man. So that was the emotion-manipulator person. "She wasn't _that_ scared, you know."

I stifled a giggle. More of the beautiful, cold people introduced themselves. I met Carlisle and Esme, and Emmett and Rosalie. All I could say was that I was going to suffer self-esteem issues very shortly.

All of them seemed to receive me well, or at least weren't bothered by my presence. Rosalie seemed a little haughty, but as she appeared to be the most gorgeous out of all of these gorgeous people, I guessed she had a right to be.

I went through the list of names in my head. I knew there was someone I hadn't met. Oh, dang it was the mind reader. I had to say I wasn't extremely comfortable with the idea of someone reading my mind, snooping in on my private thoughts. Invasive.

"Earth to Haley," Seth said. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," I said bemusedly. "I've only been scarred for life by a couple of scary vampire movies. This is nothing like those. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay, if you're really sure."

Dang. Nessie was leading mind reader (her father, if I remembered correctly) over to us. Think neutral thought, think neutral thoughts. I tried repeating the mantra over to myself but found myself pondering what it must be like to read minds. I bet it got annoying. I mean, half the time all I thought about was completely boring, well before I got swept up in Forks' own fantasy tale.

I glanced at mind reader. He looked like he was trying hard not to smile, or perhaps laugh. Great, even when I was shutting up I was still making an idiot out of myself. I guessed I was just destined to be a clown. I could picture the red nose and huge shoes already.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey all! Yes I do realize that it has been forever since I last updated. I also know that my school is giving out WAY too much work. If you accept that as an excuse I will be most grateful. And thank you, Height for helping me sort out some plot problems. Enjoy your reading! **

**Last time:**

**I glanced at mind reader. He looked like he was trying hard not to smile, or perhaps laugh. Great, even when I was shutting up I was still making an idiot out of myself. I guessed I was just destined to be a clown. I could picture the red nose and huge shoes already.**

It turned out mind reader (or Edward, as he introduced himself to me) wasn't as scary as I'd thought, for all that he could read my most intimate thoughts and feelings. He was still fairly intimidating though, they all were.

I mean, I was kind of fair but they were so pale they were literally white. Not to mention the beauty thing. Plus they were all kind of, well unsettling was the only way to put it. Something about them made me slightly nervous.

Seth and the rest seemed completely at home there, though. They started talking about patrols and some strange scents they caught on the reservation.

"Was it familiar?" asked Emmett. He looked a little overeager, as if the thought of tearing dangerous vampires apart was fun. Maybe it was. I certainly had not experience in the matter.

"I think so, but I can't be sure," said Quil. "Most bloodsuckers smell about the same, unless you're looking for differences. No offence." He directed this last bit at Rosalie, who seemed a bit annoyed by his comment. I didn't blame him. I didn't think I'd want to get on her bad side either.

"It hasn't actually been on our land, so if you see or smell anything…" Jake warned. "Do you think it might be one of your friends?"

"I don't think so. If anyone was coming to visit I would've seen them," Alice put in. I think she was the least frightening of all the vampires I'd seen today. In a funny way, she reminded me a bit of Sophie, which was strange because they looked nothing alike.

"We'll keep an eye out," said Carlisle.

They kept talking of similar things, strategy and whatnot. I couldn't follow a lot of it. I stood slightly behind Seth, blending into the background. I was very easily not noticed. Ask anyone at my school. They'll probably say, "Haley who?"

Emmett turned on a sports game and sat down on the spacious couch. As if on cue, every other male in the house (and some females) gravitated toward the television. Now that was something I'd never understood. Why they even care. I'd been asking my father and brothers the same thing for years every time they stole the remote from me. I didn't get an answer then and I didn't expect to get one now.

Seth was sitting on the floor. Spacious as that sofa was, it wasn't big enough to hold _everyone._ That was who seemed to be watching football today. Aww, it was some kind of tradition. Not a tradition I could get interested in, unfortunately. Couldn't they have made a tradition of playing tiddlywinks? I played a mean game of tiddlywinks.

I caught a bit of noise from the television. "Redskins vs. Patriots." I almost laughed out loud. I knew that last team.

That was the team on all my brothers' jerseys and hats. I would've bet a lot of money that they were watching this game, right now. It wasn't really funny, but the idea of Chris and Dan here, screaming commentary every two minutes just struck me as ludicrous.

No one really seemed to notice I was there. I felt like I was intruding on a rather special gathering. I probably was.

I heard some very light footsteps next to me. I looked quickly to my right. "Over here," I heard Nessie's voice say it was coming from my left side. Typical. I glanced over my left shoulder and turned to face her.

"Hi," I said. What else do you say to a vampire hybrid that could kill you with one wrong twitch of her finger? Beats me.

"So you don't like football," she said. She didn't bother making it a question.

"Well, I… Is it that obvious?" I smiled ruefully.

"Yep," she answered. "Do you want me to show you around? We could go for a walk outside"

I blinked. That was random. That was incredibly random. She was nice and all, but I barely knew her.

"We'll get back before the game ends. We won't be missed." She grinned and gestured toward the television where the pack had started chowing down on several large bags of potato chips.

"Okay, I guess," I said. Way to show enthusiasm.

She grinned a blindingly bright smile and practically skipped over to Bella. "Haley and I are going to go for a walk."

Seth looked up at the mention of my name. It seemed purely reflex, as if he'd had no control over it. Much like the way people look up when their own name is called. He met my eyes and shot me a questioning look. I shrugged back. A walk. It probably beat sitting around in front of a television, frying brain cells and watching a bunch of guys tackle each other over a ball.

He winked. Man was he adorable when he did that. And now I was sounding like a stereotypical teenage girl. Hey, in my defense, I technically was a teenage girl. It was my prerogative to be insane. That should hold up in court.

I heard a quick chuckle from across the room, near where Nessie was standing. Mind reader strikes again. I really should work on the neutral thoughts thing.

Before I knew it, Nessie was back at my side and grasped my hand more firmly than I would've thought possible for such a petite thing. I must've blinked.

She led me out the door and into the wilderness.

"Just curious, but why did you ask _me_ to go on a walk. You don't really know me all that well."

"True, but that's _why_ I asked you. You seem nice and I just had this feeling…" Oh great. Had someone neglected to mention another superpower? "…that we're going to be friends." So much for the superpower theory.

"Yeah, but no one ever really notices me unless they have to. Well, except for Seth, but that's the wolf magic. I don't really see why, what with my stellar personality and all." I had no idea why I was unloading my troubles on a two year old. Granted, she was much smarter and wiser and older-looking than you average two year old, but still.

She giggled, a trilling sound like wind chimes. "I don't see how. You're funny."

"So what's your superpower again?"

She giggled once more. "They're not exactly superpowers, more like abilities. I can transfer my thoughts and memories into other people's minds by touching them my palm." She grabbed my hand and suddenly I was no longer walking through the forest.

I was sprinting. I was going as fast as the pack had gone earlier. I narrowly avoided trees, swerving at the last possible second. I also seemed to be strangely closer to the ground. I was aware of everything going on, my sight and hearing were amazing, far beyond normal abilities. Nessie let go of my hand.

"Whoa," I said after a moment. "You weren't kidding." I looked at her with raised eyebrows. "That was wicked awesome."

"Thanks," she said. "I've been able to do it since I was born. It doesn't really feel special to anyone around here anymore. I guess the novelty has worn off. It's nice being able to see your reaction."

"What was my reaction?" I asked suspiciously.

"Nothing too bad. You were staring into space with your mouth wide open. You looked a bit like a goldfish." She giggled (she seemed rather prone to doing so) and muttered something under her breath.

"What?" I asked. I probably wasn't really meant to hear whatever she had said, but curiosity got the better of me.

"Just remembering the look on Jacob's face when I did that to him the first time. I couldn't even talk yet. I bet he didn't see that coming." She giggled yet again.

She began regaling me with stories. I had to admit, she was quite the raconteur. She was able to tell things in a descriptive amusing way that made me feel as if I was there. Then again, that may have been because she often touched me to add her memories to the telling. It was very subtle.

All of a sudden, she froze. She was still as a statue, if I hadn't just been talking to her, I might've been convinced that she was.

"What's wrong?" I whispered. I didn't know why I was whispering. Something about her stance made me very cautious, nervous.

"Just stay very still and quiet," she whispered back. "Not that it'll help," she muttered, more to herself.

"Hello," said a musical voice from directly behind me.

I jumped. I slowly turned around. Nessie, of course, was already facing him, back in her statue mode, looking coolly into his eyes, which I had just noticed were bright crimson.

"Renesmee, it's been so long. I swear, you're looking more like your mother every day." It was another voice, coming from behind me.

I jumped yet again. Of all the pleasant surprises. Being smarter than the average bear, I had figured that these were vampires, and that I was dinner. Bon appetite.

But then why did they seem to know Nessie?

"Felix, Demetri," she said softly. "How are you?" I admired her bravery. I was looking between them so rapidly I would probably give myself whiplash.

"Oh, just fine," said the first one. "But we have unfortunately been charged with bringing you back with us."

"You see," said the other one. "Aro is so eager to have that delightful family of yours join him. Those shape shifters would also make a wonderful addition."

"As for your little acquaintance…" he trailed off suggestively. I was starting to panic. Not only that, but the 'little' jab was kind of offensive. I was fully average height. It didn't matter, though, how tall they thought I was. I was dead. As good as dead, anyway. My heart seemed to thump louder, as if aware that it was going to be stopped very soon.

"It would be very unwise to kill her," Nessie threatened, looking as scary as it is possible for a beautiful young child to look. "She has a very strong attachment to the shape shifters. They wouldn't be very eager to join you if anything happened to her."

"It is that bond that Aro mentioned. Does it not also exist between you and their leader?" asked the one called Felix.

"Yes, but if you hurt either of us, in any way, shape, or form, they will not only refuse to join you, but hint you down and kill you." Wow, now _I_ was even scared of Nessie. And she was on my side.

"I suppose we'll have to take them both. Aro will be able to determine whether or not she is lying." Demetri winked at me. "And if she is, dibs." I shivered. I knew I wasn't lying, but that in no way made me safe.

Out of nowhere, a thought ran through my head. It was completely and totally illogical, considering the state of affairs. What were my parents going to think? They'd think I was some teenage runaway. And what if I actually got back alive? What were they going to say then?

I had somehow managed to be both pessimistic and optimistic in the same thought. I knew one thing though, my chances of getting out of this were slim to none.

Before I had an opportunity to think straight, Felix had seized me around the middle and threw me over his shoulder. He shot off like a speeding bullet. My glasses fell off, but I could still see how fast we were going. I could also see Nessie, a little blurrier but still safe and alive from what I could tell. Demetri was holding onto her similarly.

I was starting to get motion sick, something that had not happened when I was on Seth. I was happy then. Now, the fears of being sucked dry transferred themselves to this activity. My eyes strained to make out any detail, but I was blind as a bat without my glasses and could only see a fuzzy mix of green and brown.

I all of a sudden couldn't take it anymore. The fear, the headache I was getting from straining my eyes, the uncomfortable feel of Felix's cold and hard shoulder on my stomach. I threw up. Felix made a face, but didn't comment, slow down, or anything of the sort. I groaned. This was not going to be a joy ride.

The running kept up for what seemed like an incredibly long time. I had no way of knowing how fast they were running, where we were headed, or even how long it would take to get there.

Before I knew what'd hit me, I was tossed in the back of a very expensive looking car. Nessie tumbled in after me. I buckled the seat belt. The vampires might have been indestructible, but I was incredibly vulnerable. Just how vulnerable I was only starting to realize.

I closed my eyes and wished myself out of this place I wished I was anywhere, _anywhere_, but here. Nessie stroked my back and murmured to me.

"Shhh, it's going to be all right. They'll find us. Everything will be okay." I immediately felt bad. I should be comforting her. I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. She sent me a picture of the wolves and vampires together. It must've been a memory from earlier today, because I was there, too.

I was looking around the house in wonder. (I felt kind of embarrassed about that, but I had much bigger fish to fry right now.) Seth was gazing at me like I was his personal miracle. I turned back and smiled at him. Our eyes met and you could see tenderness there. I let go of her hand.

I started softly crying, not for myself, but for Seth. What was he going to do once I was gone?


	13. Chapter 13

**Salutations most esteemed readers. I would like to personally thank everyone who has reviewed for getting me over 100. I'm honestly near tears (though that might be because I just watched **_**A Walk to Remember**_**). As a side note, I'm taking a bit of a hiatus from Haley's point of view in the first part of the chapter. I love her character as much as any of you (she actually has a much better sense of humor than I do) but I need to show what's happening "Meanwhile in Forks." I'm going to be alternating between a Haley point of view and a third person point of view. All clear? Good, let's get on with the story.**

**Last time:**

**I started softly crying, not for myself, but for Seth. What was he going to do once I was gone?**

In the Cullen house, all was well. The Redskins were firmly in the lead. Crumbs were all over the place, but no one really noticed. Quil, Jacob, and Seth felt that familiar ache.

It was there almost continually, the sort of thing they could almost tune out, but never completely. When their imprints were away from them, it was like their center of gravity had been removed and their smooth orbit was disrupted. When they were reunited, they felt an almost physical relief. All the imprinted wolves did.

Seth was less used to it than the others. He could hardly focus on what was going on. All he could picture was Haley. The way she bit her lip and looked down when she was embarrassed. Her clear green eyes. The freckles that dotted her nose. The way her smile lit up her whole face.

It had driven the pack crazy. They had two imprinted members already but the imprintees in question were children. The feelings and wishes connected to Claire and Nessie were almost older-brotherly. They had thought they were done with witnessing _that_ kind of intense attraction when they split off from the other pack. It had been enough to make Seth feel guilty. Just not guilty enough to try to stop.

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Seth asked. He wasn't worried exactly, just anxious to see her again. He knew Jake felt the same way.

"You see anything Alice?" asked Jake.

Alice sighed. She had explained this many times before. "I can't see Nessie or anyone around her, concerning her, or planning to see her. How many times have I said that?"

"About forty-eight, but who's counting?" grinned Embry.

"Not me. For God's sake, it doesn't matter. Nothing's going to happen. They're just going to study nature or whatever the hell a hybrid and a geek do when they get together."

"Shut up Leah. Haley's not a geek." Seth rolled his eyes.

"Little brother, I'm not saying it's a bad thing but yeah, she is. She carries a book around with her and she wears those hideous glasses all the time."

"Will you two knock it off? You're seriously pissing the rest of us off." Jake looked annoyed. Everyone else in the room made a conscious effort to look un-pissed off.

"Listen Seth, if you want you can go check up on them and bring them back. We don't need to send a search party out for them. They probably just didn't realize how much time went by," he reasoned.

Seth didn't need any more of an invitation. He immediately stood up from where he was slouching near the television and walked out the door. He heard behind him a distinct muttering. "Eager, isn't he?"

He sprinted to the nearest large tree and stripped down, tying his shorts around his ankle. He phased, reveling in the feeling of being a wolf and still having a mind to himself. He thought that being a wolf would be the coolest thing in the world if not for the lack of privacy.

He found their scent easily. Nessie's was so distinctive, so unique that anyone, wolf, vampire, or human could probably pick it out. It had a hint of the painful sweetness of a vampire, but without the sting.

Haley, on the other hand, smelled amazing. Not in the creepy killer bloodsucker way, but in the normal "the opposite sex smells attractive" way. Seth just happened to have a better sense of smell than any normal person on Earth.

He followed the twisted path they had ambled along, the trail growing steadily fresher as he went along. Until he came to another scent, one so strong that it could overpower anything else. It was the scent the pack had smelled a few days before while patrolling. It also happened to be the place where Haley and Nessie's trail stopped.

He smelled exactly where the vampires went. (There were two of them. He was sure of it.) On the trail leading away from the spot was an awful stench, but just beneath it, he noticed two much friendlier smells.

_Oh shit,_ he thought to himself, right before an unbearable wave of pain overcame him. Almost without thinking he turned tail (quite literally) and sprinted back towards the Cullen's house, howling all the way. _Haley no. Oh my God, no. Shit! Why me? Why her? Haley…_ He repeated the mantra to himself over and over until it ceased to have any meaning at all.

He suddenly had company. The others must've heard his howling. He didn't give them a chance to ask, pictures, sounds, scents, discoveries, thoughts ran through his head faster than would normally be comprehensible. It took them a few moments to realize what'd happened.

Jacob had a similar flash of pain, pure, raw, and nauseating. He and Seth howled in harmony. One thought circulated through all of their minds, having come from no one in particular. True misery does not love company.

**Haley P.o.V.**

I studied the backs of my captors' heads as they speeded (and yes, I do mean speeded. I was fearing for my life) down the highway. Felix had short hair, black as midnight against his pale skin. Demetri's hair was longer and wavier.

They both looked different from all the vampires I had seen so far (admittedly, not many), not just because of the eyes, either. They both had an olive tint to their fair skin. I guessed your skin tone when you were a human contributed to your skin tone as a vampire. And here I'd assumed they all automatically turned the color of chalk.

I didn't know why I was thinking such absurd thoughts. My life was in jeopardy, my family was going to be worried sick about me, and Seth was practically going to be destroyed.

It seemed so egotistical to assume my well-being had such power over him, but I was just repeating what I'd heard from Seth and Leah. It was apparently a fact of wolfhood.

I had stopped crying a few minutes ago. Not only was it pointless, it was a bit humiliating. I knew I shouldn't give a damn what the two leeches (okay, so I picked that word up at Emily's house) thought of me. They were pretty much evil kidnappers. Crying in front of them, I just felt too exposed. They already had too much power over me as it was. I refused to let them have the emotional power as well.

Nessie leaned into me slightly. For all that she was old for her age (understatement) and probably smarter than I was, she was still very young and probably scared too. She shouldn't have to put on such a brave face for me. It just didn't seem right.

Our eyes met and we exchanged worried glances. We each knew what the other was thinking. Everyone would be so concerned about us. They'd probably try to get us back and get hurt in the attempt, maybe even killed. I shuddered away from that thought.

It's amazing how emotionally close and empathetic two people will become when kidnapped together. I recommend the experience. Not. Though if I lived through this I'd probably be able to find some semblance of a silver lining in that.

It took only a few more hours (only being the wrong word. The correct adjective would probably be nerve-wracking) to get to Seattle, and consequently to an airport. I had a pretty good guess of where we were going. Volterra, Italy, home of the Volturi, and if I wasn't mistaken, some pretty good pasta. Not that the two in the front seat were very interested in that. They seemed more interested in me. And not in a flattering way.

We pulled into a very small, private-looking airport. These two didn't look like the type who particularly enjoyed flying coach, but a private jet? They sure lived in style.

The two of them turned their heads around so quickly that I almost missed the movement. Their vivid scarlet eyes narrowed. I could pretty much tell a threat of some type was going to take place. My parents had a similar (if less menacing) look on their faces when one of my siblings was seriously pissing them off. I hadn't done anything to make Dracula mad.

"Do one thing we tell you not to do, say anything to anyone, try to run away, and you will sincerely wish you hadn't done it as you suffer a slow and painful death," Demetri warned, every inch of him looking as lethal as he undoubtedly was. Felix winked, somehow looking just as terrifying.

I was a little offended. Did they doubt my intelligence? I admittedly wasn't girl genius but I knew better than to run away from vampires who could easily kill me. Honestly, these are the sorts of things they should teach in kindergarten. Sharing your toys and taking naps does you no good later in life.

Nessie put on an emotionless mask. I tried to do the same, but I truly couldn't stop myself from looking terrified. Hey, I was only human.

The two of us were yanked out of the car. Felix put his hand around my upper arm; it somehow felt like a manacle because his hands were every bit as cold and hard as steel.

They led us to a very fast-looking small jet. The entire place seemed strangely empty, not of planes; there were plenty of those around, but of people. Maybe they were bribed. Truthfully, the things we will do for money makes me sick. Then again, I doubt that if anyone was bribed that they had no idea that two innocent girls were going to be spirited away from family, love and home. (It sounded like a bad, made-for-TV movie, but there it was.)

Felix got into the cockpit. After seeing him drive, I wasn't so sure that I wanted him flying an airplane, but I didn't have much choice in the matter. Demetri herded us in and shut the doors. I shot Nessie a glance and we scurried to the cramped-looking seats. I pulled the seatbelt on and tried to suppress a shudder.

I wasn't the biggest fan of flying under the best circumstances. I wasn't scared of heights normally, if I had something solid underneath me. A plane has nothing. If it falls from the sky, it falls. Nothing to stop it. Add the terror of being eaten and that is just peachy.

The plane started moving towards the runway. _Hello, I'm Dracula and I'll be your captain today. We're on our way from Seattle, Washington to evil vampire headquarters. No stewardesses will be bringing you any cheap peanuts but we may eat you if you don't behave. Enjoy your flight. _

The plane began to pick up momentum. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt Nessie's feather-light touch on my arm. I took a quick peek at her from the corner of my eye. She didn't seem to like the idea of flying much either. Her face was screwed up in a grimace. I closed my eyes again right before we took off and swallowed several times to clear my ears.

I looked at Nessie. She looked out the window almost curiously and I realized that this must be her first time flying. What an experience. After this, I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to get within ten feet of a plane again. Assuming we got a chance to get near a plane again.

The ride was long and almost silent. Except for the rumble of the engines and the sound of our breathing, nothing was heard. I was afraid the threat from Demetri would still apply.

We landed in another small airport filled with expensive airplanes. It looked fairly similar to where we took off from, except that it was sunny. It was gorgeous. No wonder people like to vacation in Italy. It really was too bad that my Italian was limited to _Bertuccis. _Not that I'd get to mingle here much, anyway.

Felix and Demetri pulled up the hoods of their dark cloaks, making them look even more creepy. They hauled us out of the plane. That was getting quite old, the hauling around thing. Jeez, if they'd asked I would've moved on my own. I wasn't about to try to run away. Again with the doubting my intelligence.

As Nessie moved into the sun, her pale skin seemed to glow a tiny bit. I stared. She noticed me eyeing it and looked pointedly at the cloaks. Right. The glittering thing. Wow, that had to inconvenient.

We were dumped into yet another expensive car; this one had very darkly tinted windows. I could guess why. We started on the road. I rubbed the back of my neck. All this traveling was starting to get exhausting. These vampires sure chose a conveniently situated location.

I started to fall asleep. I resisted it with everything I could. I didn't want to sleep around _them._ I was too vulnerable to begin with. The picturesque views outside my window were no good to focus on; they lulled me to sleep. I tried to recite all the random memorized quotes I had saved up in my head. It was no good.

I was about to drop asleep when something sagged into my side. I looked over, saw Nessie fast asleep and let go of consciousness. I wouldn't be able to do much more self-defense awake than asleep.

I woke a very short time later. As tired as I still was, I was just too nervous to let myself stay asleep longer, no matter how much I wanted to. I couldn't read the road signs but I saw one word on a sign that looked promising. Volterra. We must have been very close.

As we drove into the city, I nudged Nessie awake. I hated to do it, but I'd want the same thing done for me. She should be fully awake for the official prisoner taking. Well, it was more or less official already, but we had yet to see the man in charge, Aro.

We got out of the car. I was in all honesty still mostly asleep. I followed where I was pulled, for the most part. I couldn't say where I was going if asked, and I didn't much care. I didn't have a prayer of escaping from here in any case, why bother looking?

I only woke up from my catnap when I heard another voice.

"I am fine Demetri. Thank you. And did you get the girl you were after." It was a young man, probably in his early twenties. He was quite good looking in the tall, dark and handsome fashion. Not my type (translation: not Seth) but still cute.

"Yes, we did Lorenzo. Plus a bonus." Felix held me forward a little and I staggered to regain my balance after being dead on my feet for so long. Nothing like imminent danger to wake a girl up.

"Is Aro busy?" asked Demetri. He seemed much more soft-spoken than Felix.

"No, I am not. I see you have been successful," said a soft, lovely voice from behind me.


	14. Chapter 14

**I am so sorry for taking so long. Please, if you have any goodness in your hearts, forgive me. I thought I was going to go insane from all the work I was doing. Also, I just wanted to clarify two things before starting the chapter. The first is about Lorenzo, the new character I added in. Remember Gianna? Lorenzo is sort of her replacement. I figured no human secretary was going to last too long in a building full of vampires. You can decide for yourselves whether she was turned or eaten. He's a human, and while he is tall, dark and handsome, it's in an ordinary human way. (Thank you Anna562!) I would also like you to disregard all the places where I said Renesmee was two. This takes place a little over a year after the beginning of Breaking Dawn so she is one. Sorry about that. Onwards with the story!**

**Last time:**

"**Is Aro busy?" asked Demetri. He seemed much more soft-spoken than Felix.**

"**No, I am not. I see you have been successful," said a soft, lovely voice from behind me. **

I whipped around. Yet another vampire stood behind me. There was something off about him though, and it took me a moment to figure out what it was.

He seemed just as beautiful as the others, feature-wise, but he just looked so…. brittle. As if his skin would break if anything came into contact with it. His eyes were even scarier than the bright red ones of my captors. They had a sort of opalescent cast to them, which may sound pretty but on bright red eyes… they're just creeptastic.

"Renesmee, child. It's been so long since I last saw you. I trust your family is well?"

Nessie set her lips together and glared. I did my best to blend into the background. It didn't work as well as I'd hoped.

"And who is this?" Aro sighed. "Why did you being a human with you?"

"Her name's Haley!" Nessie burst out. "And she's with one of those shape-shifters you want so much, so don't try anything." Atta girl.

"I see," Aro seemed to be talking more to himself than to anyone else. "Would you mind if I…" he reached out a hand toward me. I looked at it. Yes, it was a very creepy looking hand, but what did he want me to do to it. I assumed he was too high and mighty to shake hands with prisoners.

"Come child, I won't bite you." Wow, who'd have thought the Count had a sense of humor?

"He reads minds too," Nessie muttered to me. "He needs to touch your hand." Great, just what the world needed. _Another_ mind reader, because embarrassing myself once just isn't enough.

"You have _got _to be joking," I grumbled. All the vampires in the room giggled in harmony. And yes I do mean harmony. It was a little _too_ musical if you catch my drift. Very spooky.

"Actually, I don't just read you present thoughts. I read all of them, past and present," he sounded way too pleased with himself. Then again, if I were that powerful, I might be kind of proud too. He did command some kind of vampire army, filled with the elite.

I shuddered. This was going to be extremely unpleasant. I could tell. Not to mention all the embarrassing moments I'd ever had (and I'd had a lot) would be at his disposal. Not that they were particularly dangerous (unless you count one that involved the cotton eyed Joe, a wet floor and inexplicably, some mini doughnuts, but I digress) but I still didn't want anything he could possibly use against me in his head.

I stepped forward and put my hand in his. I had the sensation many people describe as "having your life flash before your eyes" except it was in less than a split second. Before I could blink, I was released from his cold grip and allowed to go stand beside Nessie once more.

"Very interesting. It seems our young friend was telling the truth," Aro commented. "They really ought to be taken to a room. Dear Haley looks like she's going to fall over from exhaustion. Lorenzo, if you would…"

The boy came forward. He looked only a few years older than me and since he was the only other human in the room, I was inclined to trust him. I decided he had a kind face. Though he was fairly good-looking, with longish dark hair.

He made a slight face, as if to say: Sorry_ ladies, just doing my job._ "Follow me please." He had an accent that I hadn't noticed before.

I wondered what he was doing in a place like this. Did vampires set up wanted ads for their employees? _Wanted:_ _Secretarial Position. Must not be afraid of fictional monsters. Must be able to keep quiet about the existence of said monsters. Please call 1(800) 66-FANGS for more information. _I somehow doubted it.

Nessie grabbed me by the arm and started walking behind him. We were going down a brightly lit corridor. It looked quite average, actually. As if it was a part of some not-so-fancy hotel. There were doors that looked at if they might lead to bedrooms, but no numbers were on them. There was industrial carpeting beneath my feet. Somehow, this wasn't what I was expecting. What happened to "eye of newt and toe of frog" and all that? Did they think they were too cool to go along with the established stereotypes?

"Why do you work here?" I asked. I had no idea what enticed me to say it. It wasn't exactly the sort of thing you asked someone. Especially when they worked for the vampire version of Dr. Evil.

"I was brought in originally as… food. Aro thought I might be useful, so he offered me a choice. Death or service."

"Useful?" I wondered.

"He thinks I may possess a talent which would transfer into a vampiric gift. I will stay here until they decide to either kill me or change me."

Ouch. That was straightforward. How could he say things like that with almost no emotion, as if he were describing the weather? It seemed like he'd grown too used to the idea. I instantly felt sorry for him.

"Was there anyone else with you when you…" I trailed off.

"Several people I did not know, as well as my family," he looked down. So he hadn't been completely desensitized after all. "They told me to run, to stay alive by any means that I could. This was the only way."

"Why don't you try to run away?" Nessie asked. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, though. This went beyond words.

"In this place? They would know I was leaving before I set foot beyond the building! They would find me, bring me back here and kill me, painfully.

I shuddered at the thought. A building full of vampires vs. one human didn't sound like very promising odds. And I had no idea how many there were in this place.

"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been here?" I asked timidly.

"Several months. I am twenty-two. And you are?"

"One, but I'm old for my age," said Nessie. I'll say. She looked about six!

"Fifteen," I said simply.

"So was my youngest sister. Rosa." His face filled with extreme sorrow and he opened the door to a small, simply furnished room. It appeared that the Volturi had had humans here before. I guessed vampires didn't usually need beds or bathrooms.

We entered the room. "I am sorry you were taken here as well," he said, looking at the ground. I knew what he was thinking. That we were trapped here too, never to leave unless we joined them (I don't know about you, but I kind of enjoy being alive and not biting other people's necks). I refused to think like that. Seth and the others were coming for us. The Cullens too. They had to be.

**Meanwhile Back in Forks:**

Edward heard the thoughts before anyone heard the howling. He hated to be the bringer of bad news, but it seemed to be the responsibility of the mind reader. Anger rushed in to fill him. He didn't know who'd taken Renesmee, but whoever did was going to be ripped into miniscule shreds.

Bella noticed the look on her husband's face and instantly knew something had happened. And that it wasn't good.

The wolves raced outside to investigate Seth's noise and find out what was going on. The Cullens all followed. When Jacob started howling as well they all knew something had happened to Nessie and Haley.

Bella looked as close to crying as was vampirely possibly. Renesmee was only a baby, no matter how old she looked. _Her_ baby. She'd never seen herself as the maternal type before, but now…

They all ran as a large group toward Seth. The large gangly wolf met them halfway and turned around so that they could all keep going towards the place where they had been kidnapped.

Edward ran ahead. He was easily the fastest in the group and he was fueled by rage. Rage that someone would take his daughter away.

He stopped when Renesmee and Haley's scents met those of two others. Two that he had never forgotten, considering the last time he saw them. He hadn't figured that the Volturi would come back so soon. Aro had become less patient than usual. He was several millennia old, after all.

"It's the Volturi. Felix and Demetri," he said. He didn't say it loudly, but he knew everyone heard perfectly. They were the first words anyone had said out loud after they'd discovered the disappearance.

The other Cullens gave a mental sigh. They knew that their conflict with the Volturi would have to end sometime. It was inevitable. They weren't known for leaving threats open. Theirs was an extremely powerful coven. Most of the pack had, quite honestly, hoped that they would be dead and gone when the time came for an all-out war.

"Well, this means we finally get to kick their asses," Emmett said in a reasonable tone. Rosalie rolled her eyes. Edward glared.

"We ought to get back to the house first. They won't do anything to the immediately and we need to plan. I also ought to relieve Haley's parents. They're going to be very worried, otherwise," Carlisle said, ever the voice of reason.

Seth and Jacob came out of their shock-induced stupors. Jacob was hell bent on revenge. He was going to make those bloodsuckers pay. He needed to get Nessie back, but he knew that that would be no easy task. The Volturi didn't get an opportunity to study a vampire hybrid that often. They wouldn't be willing to give her up.

**Seth P.o.V.**

You know how some people say that behind every cloud there's a silver lining? Until today, I used to be one of those optimists. Just recently, today in fact, I realized that that is complete bull. There was nothing good to be gained from this.

Agree with me? Now try having the love of your life kidnapped right out from under your nose by your mortal enemies.

I shook my head and tried to clear it as every single one of us turned tail and headed back for their house. I seemed to be over the worst of the shock. I was no longer howling in pain, anyway. Except on the inside maybe, but no one but the other pack members knew that.

I knew all too well how imprinting could change your life. Look at Leah, for God's sake. I might as well have gone through that pain with her. I'd seen it through the minds of every imprinted member of the pack. I'd experienced it for myself, too. It was a very strange sensation, like nothing mattered but Haley, keeping her safe, keeping her happy.

I'd never experience the pain of losing an imprint, not through memories, and not through personal encounter. I didn't plan to ever feel it either. I was with Jake on this one. I could hear him seething next to me. His weren't particularly pleasant thoughts. Bella would've killed him if he used them around Nessie.

Before I even had time to get my thoughts in order, I had to phase back and gather in the Cullens' spotless living room. Super speed can get on your nerves sometimes.

"What's the plan?" asked Jasper quietly. He was the military strategist. He didn't speak often, so we all tended to listen all the more when he did say something.

"Do we have enough time to gather reinforcements? They might back down again if we have more people," Bella said worriedly. Even with the amount of inner pain I was feeling right now, I still managed to feel pity for her. She had almost lost Nessie twice before. The kid was miraculously well behaved, but she was sure turning out to be a handful.

"Last time we gathered people to make the Volturi stop and listen, to witness. Now, there is a sure fight. Not as many are going to be willing to lay their lives on the line. We can still get those reachable by telephone, but we don't have much time. We need to hurry. Renesmee is relatively safe. Haley might not be. Now, I have to go take care of her parents," Carlisle said calmly.

I blinked in shock. I hadn't even considered the idea, probably because it still felt like something was squeezing the air out of my lungs. I realized exactly what her parents would think if she didn't show up. The last they'd heard, she was with me.

The doctor reached into his pocket and swiftly dialed the number into his phone. I had no idea how he knew it. For all I knew, maybe he memorized the phone book in case there was ever a medical emergency. It suddenly hit me what he was going to tell them. He was going to invent a medical emergency! That wouldn't exactly worry them any less, but at least they'd think they knew where she was.

"Hello. May I speak to your mother please?" It must have been one of her little brothers or sister. "Hello, Mrs. Adams, this is Dr. Cullen, from Forks Hospital. Haley is at my house. She fell ill here and she may need to stay a few days. She shouldn't be moved… No, I'm afraid you really shouldn't come to see her. It's incredibly contagious, we're quarantining the house… No, I assure you, she'll be fine… It isn't any trouble at all, I have immunity to it and everything I need here to take care of her… No thanks necessary."

I zoned out as he started talking medical mumbo-jumbo on the phone. I trusted him to come up with the perfect fake illness. I trusted no one but myself to save Haley. I knew one thing. We were going to have to get some plane tickets fast.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everybody. My school's been swined so I'm updating a little earlier than I thought. I'd like to inform you that my musical went really well. Funnily enough, I played a judge. (If you didn't get that, go look at my username.) I'd also like to thank you for being so forgiving. I know I've been inconsistent. I updated at least once a week when I first started this. Now, it's just getting tricky. It'll be a while before updates start getting regular again, but no worries, summer vacation starts in June. So hang tight and keep being the lovely audience I know you are. **

**Last time:**

**I zoned out as he started talking medical mumbo-jumbo on the phone. I trusted him to come up with the perfect fake illness. I trusted no one but myself to save Haley. I knew one thing. We were going to have to get some plane tickets fast.**

"Yes, of course. And if you show any of those symptoms, please call me or go to the hospital. Goodbye." Carlisle hung up the phone. He looked around at all of us. Jake glared back. We all knew he was just taking out his frustration. I knew I wanted to do the same thing. I somehow managed to appear somewhat calm.

"I think we now ought to call the others," he announced.

"But aren't most of them nomads?" Embry asked. "How are you going to call them if they don't have a house or anything?" I saw his point. How the hell were we going to reach anyone besides the Denalis?

"Don't you think we learned anything from last time?" said Bella testily. "They have cell phones now in case anything happened." She really was on edge. She was usually so serene and calm. Then again, she was still very close to a newborn vampire. No wonder she was having some control issues. I was surprised she hadn't gotten up and broken my collarbone again.

Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Esme and Carlisle were already taking out their own phones and dialing in numbers at speeds even my wolf eyes couldn't follow. Edward had his arm around Bella. She was leaning against him. They looked so couple-y that it gave me a stomachache. And a headache. And a heartache. I understood their pain, but didn't they know that Jake and I were feeling it too?

I walked out the front door. I needed to be alone for a while. I ran off into the woods and took off my shorts, tying them around my ankle. I then phased into the huge monster that I was and started running. It was all my fault that Haley was in this mess. If it weren't for me she never would've been in those woods when the Volturi came . She wasn't even the outdoor type. If I hadn't imprinted...

But I couldn't make myself regret having imprinted. It'd given me so much that I just couldn't. Her idea that we couldn't last was so ludicrous that I almost laughed. Then I suddenly became depressed again. Right as we'd more or less set out on the fucking road to happiness, she got kidnapped. It was like I'd suddenly acquired the mood swings of an adolescent girl. My emotions flopped up and down the spectrum from outrage to anger to depression to a need for revenge. I became aware of another presence in my mind.

_I'm sorry. _It was Leah.

_Would you get out of my head?_ I exclaimed. I knew it wasn't fair to take this out on her, but I really needed to be alone right now.

_Seth, you can't just run off. If you want to help her then you might as well come back and help plan strategy. And don't think you can outrun me. _Wasn't that just Leah? She couldn't even make a point without putting in how she was the fastest.

_I can so! I just didn't want you to think that you can just take off. That won't help anything, you know._Damn, I couldn't even insult my own sister in my head anymore. I started to miss the good old days, when I could think the most annoying thoughts ever and she wouldn't crack down on me for them.

_Fine! I know. I get it. I'm coming! Jesus, can't a guy get two seconds to himself without being bossed around by his sister? _

_Nope. Now get a move on, you're slower than molasses going uphill in January. _I smiled internally. She was tricky. She'd just snapped me out of it right when I'd needed it the most. What could help you get your game face on more than an irritating older sister? Yes, I was still just as adamant on getting Haley back, but now I was more levelheaded.

I caught up with Leah, who was sitting under a tree looking regretful. She stood up and shook the pine needles out of her fur.

_I'm sorry about that. I was just the only way I could think of to..._

_Yeah. I know. It's okay. _I put my head down so it was next to her smaller, lower one. _Thanks. _I finally related to her everlasting pain. Even if mine was fresher and stronger, hers was bitter and had hardened her beyond belief from the sister I had know, loved, and bugged the hell out of.

Together, we ran the minute back to the trees near the Cullen house and turned our backs to each other so that we could change. I elbowed her and we walked back into the house.

I could tell from the looks on Embry and Quil's faces that they normally would've given me hell for running off like a little girl. That just showed how sorry they were and how strongly they felt the depths of Jake's and my pain, that they didn't start. I rolled my eyes at them to show them that I was okay, and that they weren't going to get away with the smirks on their faces. I didn't do anything, though. I wasn't in the mood. I was more in the mood to go hunt down and beat some vampires. Quite honestly though, I'd settle for not kicking the vampires butts and just letting them get away with it all, anything as long as I got Haley back.

**Haley P.o.V. **

Nessie and I had been here for a little too long. There is only so much you can do when you're trapped in a small room with vampires surrounding the outside. I was getting more and more anxious by the minute. One more minute and I was going to be very close to mentally insane.

Ness seemed to be holding up fairly well. She wasn't bouncing slightly up and down on the creaky bed, like I was. The noise seemed to comfort me, reminded me that there was still ungainliness in this place of unnatural grace. She was sitting silently, as she had for the last few hours, thinking, or so I gathered from the focused look on her face. All of a sudden, I got to the point where I just couldn't stand it anymore.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Tell me what you're thinking, I'm going to go nuts." I sounded like a whiny baby, but somehow I didn't care.

"I've been thinking..." she said.

"No way," I muttered under my breath, momentarily forgetting that this was the wrong time for sarcasm if ever there was one.

"It's just that it doesn't fit," she said, coming around to look at me with those childlike and yet so adult eyes. "Demetri and Felix said they wanted the pack and my family to join them. Maybe they would've tried that before I was born, but I don't think they're dumb enough to think they could get any kind of loyalty out of them, whether we were held captive or not."

"So why the..." I hesitated. So what if she was more mature than I was, she was still young enough that I didn't feel like I could use foul language around her.

"You can say it," she giggled. "I'm used to it, or haven't you heard Jake and everybody?" I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, so why the _hell_ would they take us if they weren't holding us for ransom or something?" I asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," she said, her small forehead creasing. "What use they could possibly have of us, well, me." Yeah, I was extra. Just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Useless. Disposable. Thanks for reminding me.

"I guess we just have to find out," I said, though not with any anticipation. This wasn't necessarily something I _wanted_ to find out.

A sudden creaking noise came at the door. I jumped about a foot off the bed and got a satisfyingly resounding screech from the thing.

"I am sorry," came the young accented voice. Not charming or smooth enough to be a vampire.

"Oh, thank God it's only you!" I sighed in response to Lorenzo's apology. He shrugged, as if admitting that he wasn't particularly scary. I relaxed and sat next to Renesmee so that we could put up a united front of sorts against whatever members of the undead might come in after him.

"Renesmee, I sincerely apologize, but I have orders to come get you from Aro." I panicked slightly. They were just getting Ness? I wasn't useful? Perhaps they would decide I was more trouble than I was worth and just suck my body dry. I made up my mind to give any vampire who tried indigestion.

"But what about Haley?" she asked quietly and fiercely. "Will she be safe here if I'm gone?"

"As safe as I can guarantee it. Aro said nothing of her, which possibly means that she is just to be left where she is. I'm sorry I can't give you a better answer than that. How safe are any of us in here?" Talk about rhetorical questions. I think we all knew the answer before he even asked: damn unsafe.

Nessie hopped up off the ancient bed and walked over to him without another word. "I'll see you," she mouthed to me as she followed Lorenzo out the door. I heard their footsteps walking back down the corridor.

I spent the next two or three hours in endless wall-staring. You'd think they'd give a bored prisoner a book or a jigsaw puzzle, but no. The absence of the book started to grate on me. There was only so much I could do before I went cuckoo from the silence and stillness. I supposed I was too used to keeping myself entertained.

I started to make nonsensical lists inside my head. I listed all the types of fruit I knew, all the people I had met in Forks, all the English vocabulary words I'd learned last year, all the things I was going to do if I got back home. The first would be to hug Seth. The second would be to see my family. The third would be to go to the nearest bookstore and stock up on the latest fantasies, science fictions, and thrillers. There was only so much empty-mindedness I could take.

I had gone through it seemed like every possible thought in my head, when I started getting seriously sick of myself. When it got right down to it, that inner voice somewhere in my head was annoying beyond belief. I decided to try to teach myself how to stand on my head, just for the hell of it. It was the most random thought that had popped into my mind yet, and I knew if I tried to analyze it and decide whether or not it was a rational thing to do, I'd just get a headache. I decided to go along with my instincts.

I was becoming somewhat lightheaded when I heard yet more footsteps coming down that hallway. I realized what I was doing to myself and attempted to kick my feet back down so that no one would know that I was slowly but surely losing it.

Lorenzo and Renesmee walked in right as my feet slammed to the floor. Nessie giggled, high and trilling. Poor Lorenzo looked like he was trying his hardest not to laugh. He wasn't doing a very good job with it. Chuckles kept escaping from between his pressed-together lips. I stood up and did my best to look dignified but then just ended up flushing an unusual scarlet color.

Lorenzo shook his head and walked back out the doorway. Nessie plopped back down on the mattress and continued her laughing.

"So what happened?" I asked, hoping to capture her attention. I worked. She immediately assumed a graver face.

"How about I show you?" she said, and pressed her warm palm to my cheek.

_I was walking toward Aro. He appeared very glad to see me. I didn't know why, but I knew I was about to find out. He stretched out a long-fingered brittle hand and motioned that I come closer._

_"So what do you really want me here for?" I asked. _

_"Oh, Renesmee, you clever child. I should've known you would have guessed from the beginning. May I introduce Faustus?" _

_From behind his robe came a small child, approximately two or three. To ordinary human eyes, he'd appear normal, but I recognized him for what he truly was. Just like me. His hair was cropped and black as pitch. His skin had a dark tint to it. What truly tipped me off to what he was were his eyes, huge and hazel, the green and brown clearly advertising that he was no immortal child._

_"It is lovely to meet you," volunteered Faustus in a manner that was altogether too polite to appear real for one of his age. His real age must have been even younger than his appearance. If I was only a year old, he must only be a few months. It suddenly struck me whose child this was and I winced._

_"Hello," I coolly answered back. If this was Aro's child then I shuddered to think what the mother must've gone through. They would've shown her no mercy. Perhaps she had even stayed in the room Haley and I were currently occupying. _

_"I'm so delighted you two can finally become acquainted. I saw how incredibly extraordinary you were, even last winter. I simply had to study this new breed of vampire hybrid. And so came about Faustus. Son, you simply must show us how incredibly talented and intelligent you are for one so young. Now I may compare the two of you and see if the incredible talents that the two of you possess are common to the hybrid." Aro was in his element. So overjoyed at finding a new study. _

_I shivered as Aro started questioning me in a way that was clearly meant to test my IQ. Now I knew exactly why I had been taken. And it wasn't a pleasant thought._

Nessie pulled her hand away from my face as I sat, shocked. This was disturbing. This was disturbing beyond belief. Nessie as a science experiment to be compared to Aro's own spawn? I shuddered.

Not so strangely, the thing I remembered most from Nessie's memory was her fleeting thought of Faustus's mother. What she had gone through all for the sake of Aro's whims, that was a tragedy beyond anything my imagination would be able to think up.

I needed to get out of here.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello my fellow readers and judgers. I made a change to my profile if anyone actually has enough free time on their hands to check it out. I seriously doubt anyone is interested either. But it's summer, and that makes me a very happy person. Anyone feel like adding to the happiness? I wrote another story a while ago called Vitality, and it's not nearly as widely read as this one is. So if you enjoy this and want the fun to continue, go over there and check it out. The themes are pretty different, but I'm not so good of a writer that I can completely change my style. Anyway, back to the story you came here for.**

**Last time:**

**Not so strangely, the thing I remembered most from Nessie's memory was her fleeting thought of Faustus's mother. What she had gone through all for the sake of Aro's whims, that was a tragedy beyond anything my imagination would be able to think up.**

**I needed to get out of here.**

"What..." I couldn't even put words to that. It all made so much sense now. And even why they made everyone believe we were being used as ransom. It was to delay the rescue party until it could grow and gain in strength. Going up to fight the Volturi to the death wasn't something you generally did on a whim. But now they weren't going to have to fight to the death, because Aro didn't intend to keep us here indefinitely or kill us, or use us to get to the power within the pack and coven.

"I know," said Nessie, not her usually eloquent self. I suppose that made sense though. I wouldn't be at my most talkative if I'd just gone through what she had. I'd gone through enough inside her memories.

"And what kind of a name is Faustus anyhow? What kind of parent calls their kid that?" I said, just to relieve some of the stress going through my mind.

"Well it means 'lucky' in Latin," said Renesmee. Where the heck did she find the time to learn this stuff? When I was her age... I wasn't even going to finish that sentence.

"Of course," I muttered to myself. Aro was just the kind of egotistical maniac to call his child lucky. Poor kid. If he was human, he would so be pushed around on the playground for that name.

"You know, I didn't think Aro would ever deign to... with a human," said Nessie, smiling mischievously. Again. Where the heck did she learn this stuff? I was pretty sure this was not appropriate talk from a girl of her actual or physical age. Mental age, yes. But that was two out of three, so there was no way I was going to answer that.

I giggled instead. Nessie giggled with me, until the two of us had almost recovered from Ness's state of shock.

**Seth P.o.V. **

This had to be the weirdest group ever to set foot in the Seattle airport. It's not every day you see eight impossibly pale and good-looking people, paired with nine impossibly huge guys and one pissed-off girl (all of which were fully clothed for the time being. Airport rules.). And I couldn't be one of the countless people looking inquisitively. I had to be in that motley group.

Given my current stress level (39 on a scale from 1-10) and the fact that I had pretty much zip control over the entire situation, you could say that the staring put me a little on edge. And I was generally the easy-going one. Someone had to be. But today that was someone else's job.

"Is that freaking plane going to get here anytime soon or what?" It sure as hell wasn't Jake's.

"Yes," said Alice. There are some times when rhetorical questions just don't need to be answered by undersized psychic vampires. This was one of those times.

"And we're meeting everyone tomorrow?" I asked, for the umpteenth time. "We can't just go today?"

"We have to wait for those who are farther away," Carlisle explained once again with infuriating patience. I knew this. He knew I knew this. Everyone knew that he knew that I knew this. So why did I keep asking?

I think I knew. I was kind of helpless for the time being. I ask you, is it really fair to be helpless when you have this many people preparing to fight with you? The only good I could do was... wait, that wasn't actually doing any good. At least going over the plan and trying to hurry it made me feel like there was some contribution going on here.

Leah nudged me. "Would you quit being such a kid? This is like 'are we there yet' or something. It's not going to change."

She was right. We still had to get a ton of weird, human-sucking vampires over here. And those Alaskan ones that were on the forces of good too. Those three from Brazil were coming, Benjamin and Tia from Egypt (Amun couldn't be persuaded for some reason), Siobhan, Liam and Maggie from Ireland, those two creepy Transylvanians who wanted to take over the world, Jasper's two friends from way back, that other hybrid from South America and his aunt, and that pretty much summed it up. We were, with any luck, going to kick ass.

We ended up with first class tickets. I guess when you have forever to accumulate money, you can go with first class whenever you want. Me, I was just glad for the room. I was on the aisle seat, next to Embry and across the aisle from Quil. Things would have gotten seriously crowded over in economy.

Embry and Quil kept calling over me, trying to make conversation. Most likely to distract me. In a word, it was annoying. A plane ride has never seemed so long, but that was probably just because the only other time I was ever on a plane was when I went to Disney Land in California when I was seven.

Quite honestly, I zoned out for most of the time. I was going over battle plans again and again. We were going to try to reason with them first, since we didn't actually have a death wish, and hope to intimidate them with the size of our group. Maybe Carlisle could actually succeed in convincing them that we had no intention of taking over their throne. That would be safe.

I swear, I wasn't always such a pansy. I kind of liked fighting, as long as it was against the bad guys. I was your average guy, aside from the giant wolf part. Safe wasn't an issue, I mean, super healing powers anyone? But Haley was going to be there. Haley meant that it had better be safe. If she got hurt in any way, then some Volturi were going to die, no matter how much older or more experienced they were.

You know, it really wasn't my fault that I was turning into some overprotective type. It was sort of written into my genetic code. And in the world I lived in, who could blame me?

We arrived at the airport in Rome in the middle of the night, at least over there. To me it was the afternoon. I could kind of see why we were doing that. Nothing draws attention better than a big group of people going around sparkling.

It seemed ridiculous that we were actually going to go to a hotel. We were so close to Volterra that it was making me nervous. The entire city smelled faintly of bloodsucker, which I had gotten used to, but it was different when that sickeningly sweet scent came from your enemies. Made me want to gag. But just chilling when there were so much more important things to do?

"Don't say it," Leah warned me. She could read me too easily.

"I wasn't going to!" I protested.

"You were thinking it, so I'm going to answer again. No, we have to wait. Otherwise, the damn bloodsuckers will laugh in our faces and we won't get anywhere." It seriously sucks when your older sister is right.

We actually checked into a ritzy hotel. Why we couldn't have just hung around and waited for everyone else, I didn't get.

"We'd attract too much attention, especially when morning comes," Edward said. Well, that was one question answered. I kept that in mind as I sat down on the couch of one of the rooms the Cullens had booked. There was no way I was sleeping in any case.

The different covens arrived throughout the night. Most of the human drinking ones had dark glasses on to hide their red eyes. With the scarily good looks, they kind of looked like incognito movie stars. The Denali coven arrived first. Garrett had joined them, and he looked a heck of a lot less creepy with gold eyes. The ones from Europe came in next. I bet they hadn't even had to take a plane. Maggie, Siobhan, and Liam, and then the Dracula-esque ones. Vladimir and Stefan looked even more eager to take down the Volturi, if that were even possible. Charlotte and Peter didn't look particularly happy to be here, but were loyal to the cause, or at least to Jasper. Benjamin and Tia came right before dawn.

If you think the pack sat there quietly this whole time, you would be wrong. Paul kept looking like he wanted to shout something. I took it Sam had ordered him not to say anything nasty to the assembled. We also managed to get into an argument over which pack was going to go where at what time and why. Sam and Jake, the alphas, were the only ones who didn't actually partake in the argument. And we were all in fairly interesting moods given the extremely concentrated smell in the room. And Jake and I were rather on edge anyway, as you might imagine.

The three Brazilian vampires, Zafrina, Kachiri, and Senna seemed to have met up with Nahuel and Huilen somewhere. They entered wearing a lot of long clothing and large hats, Nahuel excepted, keeping in mind the sunny day outside. Now, we could finally get a move on already. I was getting anxious. What if the few hours it took to get assembled turned out to be the few hours that truly made a different? What if Haley wasn't okay?

**Haley P.o.V.**

Okay, I admit it. I fell asleep. It wasn't a good idea, given the circumstances, but we'd been in this room for over a day. I hadn't slept since the car ride from Rome. I caved. I was only human (no pun intended).

Lorenzo came with occasional meals. I went over the plot lines of almost every book I had ever read, including those I hadn't read in years. I did a lot of staring at the ceiling. Nessie was a great person, but there was only so much to talk about. The noise was starting to grate on us, and to be perfectly honest, the silence was peaceful.

I was almost growing used to what had in the beginning, threatened to drive me out of my mind. It was probably that I was too used to loud noises and chaos. I had three very loud younger sisters and brothers. They all liked to turn the television up way too loud, they shouted things across the house. This would have been a very relaxing break from that if it wasn't for the stress level.

I was noticing the quiet so much, that when a stampede seemed to erupt not far from our door, I bounced about a foot in the air. There was a large deafening hodgepodge of voices. They sounded familiar.

"Jake!" shrieked Nessie. "Mom! Dad!"

I bolted to my feet, as did she. We banged on the door, yelling, trying to make ourselves heard, noticed, and saved.

"Seth!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I almost got slammed into the wall when Lorenzo opened the door.

"I think they heard you," he said with the hint of a smile. "I am to let you out now, but I wouldn't stray too far." I could deal with that.

We followed Lorenzo's fast walk. I worked to resist the impulse to run ahead, lest I be caught and killed.

I figured out what was making all the noise. That was the hugest crowd of vampires I could ever imagine. The first thing I thought was that the Volturi was bigger than I had thought, but then I realized that about half of them were standing with the Cullens and the pack. They had red eyes, but I wasn't judging.

The next thing I saw was Seth. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him, drawn to him as if by some invisible cord tied around me. Then he did that _look _thing. I really was a sucker for that. I actually went weak at the knees, as if this was some sad, sappy love story. After several seconds I noticed the person next to him.

It was Leah, and she had a very familiar goldfish-type look on her face. I glanced at what she was looking at. Lorenzo. Seth followed my line of vision and glanced from Leah to Lorenzo in rapid succession. He looked shocked and elbowed Jake.

"OH SHIT!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everybody. Yes, it is still summer, and yes, I am still happy, so yes, I'm going to attempt to update regularly. So, real shocker, huh? I've had it planned out since Leah's jealousy attack, and I still got that. Sort of an inconvenient way to imprint don't you think? But now I've got one thing that needs to be said. A story can only go on for so long before it just becomes boring and pointless. I could try to stretch this out, but it's only got a few more chapters left in it. I wish I could say more specifically. Anywhere from one to three more after this. I'm kind of sad, but I think I can survive. So back to the story. **

**Last time:**

**It was Leah, and she had a very familiar goldfish-type look on her face. I glanced at what she was looking at. Lorenzo. Seth followed my line of vision and glanced from Leah to Lorenzo in rapid succession. He looked shocked and elbowed Jake.**

**"OH SHIT!"**

At that point in time you probably could've knocked me over with a feather. I had barely eaten in days, Leah had just done the weird imprint thing, I had no idea what was about to go down in this room, and Seth was there.

"Leah, this is not a good time!" Jake pleaded. I'm pretty sure it did nothing at all. The other wolves had interesting combinations of shock and amusement written on their faces. Except for Sam. He seemed almost resigned through his normal calm expression. Figured.

Seth tapped Leah's shoulder. The moment her concentration was broken she looked first shocked, and then marvelously overjoyed. Lorenzo, poor guy, was probably trying to figure out what the heck was going on here.

"Could we stop the drama and get this over with?" called out Nessie. I really admired her guts. This was a scary and delicate situation. I knew that even though the Volturi weren't necessarily looking for a fight, one could easily still take place.

The vampires on the good side looked like they would agree. They however thought a fight was imminent.

"Hello Carlisle, my friend," said that soothing voice front and center of the dark side. Aro.

"Hello," Carlisle answered. "We mean you no harm. We have no desire to overthrow you."

"Speak for yourself," muttered a heavily accented vampire with a similar creepiness to the Volturi. He sounded exactly like Dracula. I shuddered. Seth looked at me, concerned.

"If you could please let the girls go free, then we could all perhaps come to a compromise," Carlisle continued, as if the Transylvanian hadn't spoken.

"Oh, you see, that is where you are wrong. I knew you never planned to fight us. I've shaken your hand many a time before. It all comes down to the hybrid."

"What does? And why do you want her?" Mind reader was back. Edward was also looking more paternal than is strictly healthy for a teenage boy to look. Then again, I was pretty sure he was older than he appeared.

"Well your Renesmee is so enchanting. It got me to thinking. I've decided to make a study out of these hybrids and find out what makes them different from us and from humans. Their body temperature, for instance, seems to come neither from the human side nor the vampire side." I'd heard this all before, but I still found it sick.

"You took my daughter for one of your sick experiments!" Bella... Well, if you've ever heard of what a bear does when her cub is threatened, Bella looked like that. Only, being a vampire, she made it look good.

"I assure you, dear Bella, that no harm has come to your child. In fact, she is not the only hybrid I have been studying. May I present my son, Faustus?" Aro sounded too calm for anyone to fully realize what he was saying. When he brought the kid forward, that was when all hell broke loose.

The vampires and wolves on the good side looked outraged. More than outraged, they simply looked disgusted. Couldn't say I blamed them. The person the most so was Bella. Definitely couldn't blame her. She was the survivor of the vampiric pregnancy. She knew. The rest of the Cullens had similar looks. Witnesses.

"So, you see. It's all fine. They have been quite safe. And I assure you I would not have taken the human if she had not witnessed Renesmee's leave. It would have been awful for this whole project to fail just because you would not allow her to come to Volterra. In fact, you can have the human back now." The human. Nice, Aro. Then I realized that I was free.

I've never been much of a runner. More of an indoor girl. But I swear I ran faster than any human I'd ever seen. Right into Seth's arms with an impact that would've knocked over a normal sized guy. But Seth wasn't normal. He was extraordinary. And it felt extraordinary to be lifted off my feet, and into a kiss that burned like fire, and not because the wolves ran such temperatures, either.

I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I possibly could, and clung there for several long heartbeats. Seth, on the other hand, was gentle, as if I were breakable, or just precious. It was so comforting, so familiar, and yet at the same time so passionate and new that it left me breathless. I probably would've gone on longer if Seth hadn't pulled his lips away from mine.

"Haley, we've got an audience," he whispered. I flushed and loosened my grip. Whistles sounded from the other wolves. Everyone looked like they were on the verge of smirking. How I managed to get myself into these things...

Seth's arm wrapped around my waist and I leaned against him, suddenly tired from the last few days, the little sleep, and even less food, plus I was getting a headache from straining to see without my glasses. He was nice and warm, too.

"But why did you steal Renesmee? You..." Bella couldn't seem to get the words out.

"Oh Bella. If I had asked, would you have let me do a study on her? No," Aro sounded infuriatingly patient, as if he were trying to explain something to a kindergardener.

"Of course I wouldn't have! And you have your own spawn to experiment on!" Bella cried. Faustus looked shocked. Poor little kid, only a baby, really. I bet he'd never been shown any affection by his own father.

"But I simply had to make some comparisons. Are all hybrids made equal, or are some more humanoid than others? Some are venomous and others are not." Here he shot a greedy look at a dark skinned, good looking young man I had missed in my examination of the scene. Dang vampires. Made me lose my glasses. I realized that he must be a hybrid too. It explained why he wasn't pale at all. Jeez, how many were there?

"You've had your experiment. You've abducted my daughter. This is over, and we're going to return with Renesmee," Edward looked plain scary. This was the tone of voice someone uses when they expect to get what they want. This was the tone of voice someone uses when they are not going to take no for an answer. Aro saw that. He'd been around the track a few times. He knew a lot, including when to stop, but he wasn't quite finished.

"You see, Edward, we are quite evenly matched. I don't believe we should give in to all of your demands." The surrounding evil vampires looked hopeful, but Nessie looked scared. "I shall let her go with you, as long as you make the journey here every few months for a few years. I should like to compare how Renesmee and Faustus grow."

All the Cullens looked angry. Jake even more so. Carlisle was the only one who kept his head.

"I believe that is the best offer we shall receive. There is just one more thing I would like to discuss."

"Oh?"

"It is about your human... servant. One of our number seems to have grown quite attached to him." Leah perked up. Lorenzo just looked more confused.

"Indeed."

"Would you consider letting him go free, as he is now a part of our world?" Lorenzo now looked scared. Honestly, did he think that he'd been changed into a vampire without his noticing?

"But he did have such potential! I was actually considering changing him. I highly suspect that he will have greatly beneficial abilities."

"Are you kidding me? Do you honestly think anyone would go around telling people that vampires and werewolves exist after you scared them like that? And you've got enough power for one collection! Get over it!" Wow. I knew Leah was intimidating at times, but to say something like that to what amounted to the vampire king... That took some gumption.

Aro actually looked amused. He had some nerve. He looked at Nessie and Lorenzo and sighed. "I suppose so. So that covers that. Unless there is anything else someone wants to bring up." He glanced around as if daring someone to speak.

Nessie didn't bother waiting. She dashed straight into her mother's arms and was swept into a giant circle of love by Bella, Edward, and Jacob. I smiled, I missed my family too.

Leah walked up to Lorenzo and stuck her hand out, the star-struck look on her face identical to her brother's.

"Hi, I'm Leah. You want to get out of here?" I smirked up at Seth. I knew this story.

Everyone on the forces of good walked out of the room, grumbling about wasted time and their relief that no one would die today. The exceptions to this being the two creepy Transylvanian ones. They were grumbling about their empire and how they were all destined to fall, or some such baloney.

I was all set to follow them out when Seth swept me back up and started carrying me as if I were a small child.

"I can walk, you know," I mentioned.

"I don't think so. Have you seen yourself? Your parents aren't going to have any trouble believing you were sick." Well, so much for my looks. Then again, I hadn't washed my hair in a while, or slept, or eaten, or done anything much. And I was pretty sure I had bruises where Felix's shoulder had slammed into me when he and Demetri did the kidnapping. God, and I thought I had problems before.

"Sick?"

"You're officially staying with Dr. Cullen because you came down with a rare case of something-dangerous and I am officially skipping school."

We emerged into a beautiful city covered by a darkening sky, the sun far gone beneath the horizon. I had hardly noticed it last time, shocked state that I was in, but this was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. This was Italy. I'd always wanted to see Italy, under different circumstances of course.

"I would've come earlier, but we had to wait until the sun went down. Glittering." I almost snorted at the thought of these beautiful, deadly people glittering in the sun. It was as if someone had gotten the myths for fairies and vampires confused.

It took a lot of large cars to fit everyone. They were left a ways away from the castle where the Volturi lived, presumably so as not to draw attention to it. With most of the pack squeezed into one, it was a fairly tight fit. I, probably because I was the kidnapped one, was allowed a window seat, with Seth next to me. The movement of the car was soothing, and Seth's long arms wrapped around me, holding me against his chest, felt safer than any seat belt. Before long, I fell asleep.

When I woke up, the car had stopped, and we were in Rome. I piled out with everyone else, shooting a warning look at Seth when he shot me a worried one.

It seemed like everyone was splitting up at this point. Most of the vampires were headed in different directions, before I could utter one 'thank you', the only ones left were the Cullens and five others who also had gold eyes. Seth pointed them out as Tanya, Eleazar, Carmen, Kate, and Garrett. I turned my attention to Leah and Lorenzo.

"Sorry we can't get you any farther by car. Unless you wanted to come to America or something..." Leah looked flustered for the first time.

"There is nothing for me here," Lorenzo said in his charmingly accented voice. I could tell he was making Leah want to swoon. "What am I, exactly, to you?"

Leah took a deep breath. "So you caught the part where I'm a werewolf right? So sometimes we do this thing where we imprint on a person the first time we see them. It's sort of like a really strong attraction. Like them." Leah pointed at Seth and me. I flushed. Seth put his arm around my waist and winked at me.

"Is this common?" asked Lorenzo.

"It isn't supposed to be, but it keeps happening so much that I guess it is."

"And if I were to go to America with you?"

"Well, it doesn't force you into anything. But if you wanted..." Leah blushed. This really was a day of firsts.

"I would love to."

"She works fast," I muttered to Seth.

"Maybe I should go give him a talk or something," he said back.

"That worked well when Leah did it," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Point taken." We went back to looking at them while Carlisle booked some tickets. They really did make a cute couple. Lorenzo was only about three inches taller than she, and they both had short, dark hair and names that started with L. So this was why people liked to be matchmakers.

I got another few hours of sleep on the plane. (First class seats! These vampires had cash to burn!) Seth and I spent the remainder of the ride home talking and catching up, apparently the Dracula-esque vampires were Vladimir and Stefan, and the other hybrid was Nahuel. Truthfully, we spent a decent chunk of time ignoring the stewardess' looks at our PDA. It probably didn't help that I could pass for sixteen at the very most and that he could pass for over twenty. Worth it.

It was morning, at least in Washington, when we finally touched down in Seattle. This traveling thing was beginning to get old. I stuck out the last car ride and got dropped off at my house. Carlisle made a big show of coming out and explaining a disease that neither my mother nor I had ever heard of. Good actor, too.

I suffered through the crushing hugs and exclamations of "We were so worried about you!" Sophie, my mother and my father all made a big show of shooing me up to my room to get some rest.

"I don't care if you're not contagious any more, you still should be in bed," Mom insisted. Even Chris and Dan came out from whatever they were doing and made sure I wasn't dead or anything. Thoughtful.

Later, I sat up in bed, a book in my hand, a bowl of soup on my bedside table, that dog curled up at my feet, thinking of Seth. I'd get out of the sickroom soon, and maybe he'd visit me beforehand. Hey, we were soul mates. There was no maybe about it.


	18. Chapter 18

**I am going through a slightly depressed mode right now. Maybe I should have ended the story last chapter, but I enjoy epilogues. They make me feel good inside. I've decided, and there's going to be this chapter, and then one more after it. If you've fallen a fraction as much in love with my characters as I have, you'll stick with me here. Speaking of which, thanks to all of you who've stuck with me through all of this. You've been there since the beginning and showed true support. A special thank you to Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein, Frog Disease, Ana562, Gryffindor Gurl2, September999, guardgirl414, and I'm sure there are others that I neglected to mention because I am prone to forgetfulness. Another to my friend for helping me with a gift idea. If you feel the need for a shout out, inform me in a review or something and I'll give you one in the next chapter. **

**Last time:**

**Later, I sat up in bed, a book in my hand, a bowl of soup on my bedside table, that dog curled up at my feet, thinking of Seth. I'd get out of the sickroom soon, and maybe he'd visit me beforehand. Hey, we were soul mates. There was no maybe about it.**

Mom insisted that I stay home from school for another day at the very least. I didn't argue too hard. I wasn't recovering from an illness, but I did need a little mental recovery time. I'd known about all this for less than a month, and I'd obtained a werewolf boyfriend, almost broken up with him for reasons that made me question my sanity, made friends with a vampire hybrid, gotten kidnapped and taken to Italy, and reunited with said boyfriend. And if I said any of this I would be committed. I was almost starting to doubt myself.

True to his word, Seth dropped by the next day, and my mom let him in. Luckily, I was no longer on forced bed rest. I had proven to her that I felt fine. I also was no longer wearing my pajamas, which were decisively baggy, but extremely comfortable. This helped somewhat.

"Are you doing okay?" was the first thing he said when he saw me. My mom looked touched. She assumed he was referring to my 'illness.'

"Never better," I answered. I will not go into how much I wanted to touch him at that moment. "Come on," I said, taking his hand (YES!) and leading him into the living room. I didn't even need to look back to know the expression on my mother's face. She and I shared a similar passion for romance novels. That was the look we made when the two leads finally decided they liked each other. We were kind of past that stage, though.

Miraculously, Chris and Dan were elsewhere on this particular day. I glanced outside. The sun was actually shining. That explained it. Strangely fitting.

As soon as we'd gotten out of my mom's line on vision I wrapped him into the tightest hold I could, making sure he was still here. I buried my face in the front of his t-shirt (he was presumably wearing it so as to keep in Mom's good graces) and let him pull me even closer.

"I missed you," I whispered. I sure did like to state the obvious.

"I miss you every time I'm gone. You have no idea what this is like," Seth countered. "Just being here." He bent his head down and tilted mine up with his hands. "I love you."

I hoped my reaction was enough of an answer for him, because I didn't want to wait any longer. I took my arms off his midsection and closed the small distance between us. His hands buried themselves in my hair, and mine started feeling up his muscular back. We somehow ended up on the couch, me on his lap. Damn, did I love him.

After what seemed like several hours, but had probably only been several minutes, Seth stopped and hurriedly placed me next to him on the sofa. I was all set to complain when I noticed that Sophie was standing in front of us, looking very much amused.

"What?" I demanded.

"Just wondering. Is it really smart to be making out right after you're sick? He could catch something." She said it so innocently, but I knew her too well. She was holding back peals of laughter. I knew I should be annoyed, but I could sense Seth there next to me, and the calm, kind aura he cast over everything. I snuggled in closer to him than he had intended Sophie to witness.

"I'll be fine. I had my V8 juice," Seth said good-naturedley.

Sophie stopped trying to hold in her laughter then. It erupted from her, and made me giggle along. Seth laughed too, I could feel his deep laughter reverberating in his chest. Sophie clutched her sides and slunk out of the room. My giggling stopped after a few seconds.

"Where were we?" I asked, looking directly into Seth's dark eyes. And yes, for those of you who are wondering, he was _looking_. It's pretty much a constant thing.

He didn't bother answering aloud. He just pulled me back over to him and placed his lips on mine. Good answer. We resumed our previous activities like we'd never been paused. He left tingling trails wherever he touched me. I wanted to keep going forever.

"I love you too," I whispered in his ear. He stopped for a moment and unleashed the full power of his gaze, his eyes roaming over my face and body, before continuing our make out fest.

xxxxxxxxxxx 2 months later xxxxxxxxxxx

All in all, it was the strangest sweet sixteen party I'd ever seen. The pack (Jacob's), plus the imprints, plus a few of my friends from school, Mason, Allie, Cassie, and a few others, and each of my siblings had been allowed to bring a friend. All of this in out kitchen, living room, and dining room under the drizzling November sky.

My parents had been a bit surprised at the guest list, and at the amount of chips and sodas I'd set out.

"Haley, there aren't that many people."

"Trust me. We're going to need it. Have you ever seen teenagers eat?" They believed me after that. We'd had Seth over for dinner. I think Mom took it as a compliment.

I'd been right. Five pack members equalled a lot of food. Leah wasn't as bad as some, but even she still packed it in.

She headed over to me, practically attached to Lorenzo. Imprint bonds. They're nothing if not quick.

"Happy Birthday!" she exclaimed, taking me into a hug.

"Happy Birthday," Lorenzo agreed, a little more calmly. I'd never thought that Leah would be so enthusiastic until she'd met Lorenzo. His quiet nature seemed to balance that out quite well, though. And I thought, in a way, they helped heal each other.

"Guess what?" Leah asked.

"What?"

"Lorenzo's a U.S. citizen now." She looked so happy.

I turned to Lorenzo, confused. "Already? Isn't there some sort of process and test?"

"The Cullens offered the assistance of a man called Jenks."

"He gives them new birth dates every few years," Leah put in. "He also does legal documents pretty well."

"Congratulations," I said. Okay, they were breaking the law, and I knew it, but what right had I to judge? In their position, I knew that I would do the exact same thing.

Mason, Allie, and Cassie were happy for me. Surprised, yes. They knew I went on some dates with Seth. I never knew how to tell them how fast the relationship had actually progressed. So they thought it was kind of funny the first time they saw us together since the bonfire where we met. Suffice to say, we had been kissing in his car. I hadn't known they were there until they tapped on the window.

Allie tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and was immediately bombarded with presents, "Happy Birthday!"s, hugs, and an "Are all of Seth's friends this hot?" from Cassie.

Mason was his usual exuberant self. "So where's the hot boy-toy at?" I rolled my eyes and looked around for Seth. Strangely, he seemed to have disappeared. Then I felt a pair of hot arms envelope me from behind, and understood Mason's enormous grin. I leaned back against Seth and just let his very presence wash over me.

"Happy Birthday, Haley," he said. I felt caressed by his words. My friends gave me a _we get it _look, and went to go attempt to forage some food. I appreciated it more than I could tell them. They were great, and accepting, and were really worried about me during my 'sick spell'. They also seemed to understand my need for time with Seth.

"Thanks," I said. I turned around so that I could see him. He was holding a small wrapped package in one hand. He held it out to me with a sunny smile on his face. I took it from him and unwrapped it, trying not to tear the wrapping paper.

I held in my hand a small wooden disk, approximately equal in diameter to the length of my little finger. I picked it up to look at it more closely and discovered a chain attached to it. In ridiculously clear detail, a small paw print was etched into one side of it. It was actually three dimensional, not just an outline.

I was astonished. I lifted it up and almost immediately saw a bit of writing on the other side. In all capital letters, was an H.A. + S.C. It was so sweet and touching and childlike and innocent that I almost teared up.

"Thank you so much. I can't even tell you how much this means to me," I said, taking his hand.

"You don't think that putting our initials there was too..." he trailed off.

"Those are your initials? I thought it was referring to Santa Claus," I smiled. "No. It's perfect. I can't believe you made this!"

"It was nothing," Seth said. He took it from me and opened the delicate chain. He slid it around my neck and fastened it. I ran my fingers over it, familiarizing myself with what I knew I wouldn't take off. Well, except for showers, or bed, or swimming, but it just didn't sound as romantic.

I reached up and touched his face with my hand, feeling the heat under my palm. Seth put his much larger hand over mine, and just held it there for a moment. I think we just stood there for several minutes, neither of us making a movement besides blinking.

"Hey kids!" my dad said, popping up out of seemingly nowhere. I slid my hand back down to my side instantly. Accepting, my dad might be, but happy about it, he wasn't. It was a really good thing my mom was the one who held the reins.

"Happy birthday Halikins," I ignored the usage of the childhood pet name, and hugged him back, even though his motives were glaringly obvious. I eyed Seth over his shoulder. I guessed Dad would just have to get used to it.

"You guys! It's time for cake!" Sophie insisted as she rushed around the room, herding people into a small group by the table. I saw Nessie there, as contented as I'd ever seen her, standing next to Jacob. Claire was sitting on Quil's shoulders. Embry didn't much look like he cared about being the only unimprinted one left in their little group. In fact, he was sort of looking at Allie in a certain way. Leah and Lorenzo were holding hands and talking. Mason just looked excited for cake. My family just wondered how I made such unusual friends.

I was pushed to the front of the cake line. It was huge, to say the least. It also had a very intricate design of colored sprinkes. I recognized Sophie's work. I was made to listen to a very loud rendition of "Happy Birthday." As I was blowing out the candles, I realized I had forgotten to make a wish. I decided it was okay, because at that moment, I wouldn't have been able to think of one thing that I either wanted or needed.

The Dad started to sing an off-key version of Sixteen Candles. I elbowed him slightly. There was no excuse for inflicting this kind of torture on the guests. I recognized, belatedly, what I should have wished for.

Everyone gave him a round of applause at the end. I think he knew he was being made fun of, but he soaked up the attention and laughs like a sponge. I laughed along with everyone else, but my siblings had mysteriously disappeared. I couldn't say I blamed them.

After pigging out and chatting, everyone slowly started trickling out. It was nice to know that so many people cared about me. I mean, as sweet sixteens go, that was a bit lame. It wasn't a loud huge party in some rented place with its own DJ. But that wasn't at all my thing, and all of my friends from school came anyway. I'd have expected the pack to come either way. They sure did stick together.

Seth and I went out the door too, but we didn't go over to his car. Instead, we just started walking. The woods were damp, but the trees protected us from the drizzle. His hand was placed against the small of my back. The last time we'd been out walking here was two months ago, when he was in wolf form and we were going to the Cullens'.

"What're you thinking?" Seth asked. I realized I'd been unusually quiet.

"About the last time I was here," I said. "It was fun. I'd never done anything like that before."

"It was, huh." Seth took off his cotton t-shirt and handed it to me. "Do you mind holding this? I only have enough stuff to tie the pants to my leg."

I then knew what he was doing. This was almost as good a birthday present as the necklace, only because the necklace would last longer. A wave of gratitude and love swept through me. "You don't have to go to any trouble."

But he shut my polite remark up with a kiss. And I was so consumed with him that when he broke away and said, "I'll be right back," it took me a moment to figure out what he was saying. I guessed it would be a bad idea to see him before a test or something.

My favorite wolf came back towards me from behind a tree a few seconds later. He nuzzled my face slightly and I laughed. As much as this was Seth, it must have looked a little weird. So, logically, I did the one thing that would look even weirder. I swung one leg over his back and held on as we raced through the trees.


	19. Epilogue

**Hey everyone. This is the last chapter of this story, because I just couldn't seem to stop after the last two chapters. Each would've worked as endings, but I guess I'm special that way. But I have a couple of ideas for a spin-off story that would take place in this world through the eyes of a different character, so keep an eye out in the next few months. I really don't want this to end right now. First ever story and all. Dang, I'm not used to this! I don't usually finish what I start. As a weird afterthought that I had, if Sue Clearwater and Charlie Swan end up getting married, then Haley will become (sometime in the future) Bella's step-sister-in-law. Keep reading guys, and if you write, keep writing. The judging part is optional. Don't make me cry.**

**Epilogue**

I glanced in the mirror at my reflection, little changed since I had first met Seth, even though it had been over two, almost three, years ago. My hair was slightly longer, my cheekbones slightly more prominent in my face. The only big difference that I could see was that I'd let Sophie force some makeup on me. In my defense, high school graduations don't happen every day. I sighed and stroked Seth's necklace with my thumb.

I'd attended Seth's this time last year, at the extremely tiny school on the reservation. It was even smaller than the one in Forks. He'd opted not to go to college. It wasn't really an option for him, as he had to keep a fairly busy schedule doing patrols. It was a waste of his ample smarts. After all, I would never have managed to pass Spanish if it wasn't for him. But now it was my turn, and I was so nervous that I almost started jumping up and down.

It wasn't so much the graduating that was psyching me out. That was easy. You walk in, you get your diploma, you sit back down. What was to come afterward was the part that scared me. I was going to UW, and boarding there. Well, it was too far away to commute back and forth. And trust me, I would not do well getting up that early every morning.

Thing thing was that I would miss not seeing Seth almost every day. It was a depressing thought, but we had decided we would take turns driving to see each other. I thought about my car, a cheap little blue hunk of junk that I'd saved up for. It did _not_ get good gas mileage. I'd deal with it. Plus, if Seth couldn't go to college, not for a while anyway, _one_ of us needed a degree. I wasn't sure what in, but I was thinking about maybe editing. The reading gave me pretty good grammar sense.

Fifteen-year-old Sophie popped her head into our room. "We gotta go," she insisted. "Mom says we have five minutes to get in the car." She started walking out. "Oh, and Seth's here."

I jumped up and fast-walked past Sophie down the stairs. Seth was standing at the bottom of them holding a bouquet of flowers. They looked like lilies. He gave them to me. Smelled like lilies too.

"Thanks!" I exclaimed. "They're gorgeous."

"Supermarket," he admitted, grinning. Man did he light up the room when he did that. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried to put the flowers in water so that I wouldn't be late. I found a vase and set them on the kitchen table. I then went back to him and kissed him slightly longer, on the lips this time.

"I'll see you there," I said, and scrambled into the back of my parents' mini-van, tripping over my ugly robe a bit on my way. Seth got into Leah's small red car. Mom and Dad spent the car ride agreeing that time went by too fast, and before they knew it, I'd be gone. I tried pointing out that I was staying in the state, and wasn't going to be too far away. It didn't work. They just looked at me in the rearview mirror and shook their heads.

When we arrived, I filed into the line at the back of the gym with everyone else. This was why I hated having the last name Adams. In this school, I was first for everything. I was at the very head of the line. Mason came up to me.

"Hey! I can't believe we're this close to actually leaving. Is it just me, or do you think we should get more than a measly scrap of paper after getting through the hell that is high school?" Mason articulated. I giggled and rolled my eyes at him.

"They're on a budget, so the real prizes are being withheld," I said, joking along.

"Hey, since when do you wear makeup?" Mason asked. "You should so go for it more often. It really brings out your eyes."

"Thanks," I said, hugging him. Cassie and Allie came and joined our little party and I hugged them too. This was a regular love-fest.

Before I could do much more of the hugging, we were nudged back into line and told to be quiet. The commencement started and I was told to go and lead the way to the rows of fold-out chairs in the front of the gym. I passed Seth, who did his _look_ thing and almost made me forget where I was supposed to go.

The valedictorian speech was about as cookie-cutter as they came. About the experiences here at Forks High shaping us and us calling on those skills later on. Jeez. And _this_ was the smartest person in our class? There was no hope for me.

Before long came the presentation of the diplomas. "Adams, Haley" called out the principal. All this scene needed now was a hat on a chair and we could have a Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony.

My entire family, plus Seth, Leah, and Lorenzo got to their feet and clapped and cheered. It made a scene. My dad actually whistled. But at that moment I didn't care, and I didn't even pay attention as the principal muttered his congratulations. See, what did I say? Graduation was easy as pie.

I sat back down and waited patiently for the rest of the class to get their diplomas as well. Okay, I wasn't so patient. I was eighteen years old and had the patience of an eight-year-old at that particular time. I fidgeted slightly until the boy next to me shot me a look. No one else got quite as much noise as I had. It made me feel kind of loved, actually.

When the giving out was over, the principal just grabbed the microphone and informed us we'd graduated. I screamed like the best of them, and threw my hat high in the air. I struggled out of the gym and onto the field behind it. Everyone was waiting for me there, and group-hugged me. If I'd been claustrophobic, I'd have been a goner.

"So what do you want to do?" asked my mother. I thought about it.

"Do you mind if I meet you back home for dinner?" I asked. Mom gave a knowing smile.

"Okay, be back by six," she said. I had a feeling she was going to use that time to cook a huge dinner anyway. She probably wanted it to be a surprise.

"We could go to Leah and Enzo's place," Seth suggested. Most of us had taken to calling Lorenzo that. It seemed that three syllables was just too many. Leah and he had moved in together, into Lorenzo's tiny house, over a year ago. It had become somewhat of a hang out spot.

"Sounds fun," I agreed.

The four of us got into Leah's car, Seth and I in the back seat. He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and kissed me. "Congratulations. You were great out there."

I grinned, knowing that getting a diploma has nothing to do with skill of any kind. So, naturally, I kissed him back, and naturally, we got a bit carried away.

"Do you mind?" Leah said sarcastically to us.

"Like you can talk," Seth shot back. It was true. Leah and Enzo had absolutely zip fear of PDA. We came up to the quaint little cottage with about six rooms and one story. They didn't want or need anything bigger. Once we walked in the door, I stripped off the hideous polyester robe, revealing the short-sleeved deep green dress underneath that no one had even seen.

"I'm going to go change out of the monkey suit," Seth said, referring to the long pants and button-down shirt he wore. It wasn't particularly fancy, but I supposed he had grown used to wearing sweats and nothing else.

I sat down on the couch and contemplated my future. I'd have one summer here, and then I'd be a few hours drive away. I was going to call him so much; I already knew that. And nothing was going to keep me from him.

Seth came back out of a bedroom, where it seemed he stored a few pairs of pants in case a situation like this ever came up. Or in case someone phased while still wearing clothing. I'd heard some stories about that happening when one of them got really angry.

"Hey," I greeted him, making room on the sofa. He sat down and put his arm around me. I'd mostly gotten over the half-naked thing a while ago, but I still got distracted during times like these. He was that hot. Seriously. Don't think I didn't appreciate it.

"What's wrong?" Seth asked.

"I'm just going to miss you next year. What with college, and the pack and stuff."

"I know, but we'll be fine. I can still come and visit. And you can come here."

"It's not the same," I said mournfully.

"Nothing's ever really the same. Thing's change. But what doesn't change, and won't ever change is the way I feel about you." Seth stood up. "I love you more than you can imagine. I've loved you literally since the moment I saw you. I'll love you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?" He got down on one knee and pulled a box out of his pocket. He opened it and a diamond ring glittered in the light. The diamond was small, he wasn't able to afford the gaudy jewels of the rich and famous, but it was beautiful, and he was even more beautiful, _looking _me earnestly in the eye.

"YES!" I practically screamed. Leah and Lorenzo poked their heads out of the kitchen and looked at me curiously. They saw the scene unfolding before them and pulled them back in.

I threw my arms around him and kissed him. He responded enthusiastically until he remembered that tradition dictated that I actually wear the ring. He slid it onto my left hand and smiled.

"I hope you don't mind a long engagement. Like over four years long," he said, sitting back on the couch.

"I don't care," I proclaimed. "I'll wait as long as I need to. But, umm, my parents..." They weren't exactly big on the really young marriages. Then again, I'd be at least twenty-two when we actually did get married. Still on the young side, but they'd deal with it.

"You're fine, I already asked. It took a little convincing but..."

"What did he say?" I demanded.

"Something about 'thoughtless teenagers' and then the responsibility, and then how he didn't think I'd be right for 'the next stage of your life.'" He laughed. I put my head in my hands. This was worse than even I'd expected.

"How did you bounce back from that?" I asked.

"I have a very honest face," he joked. "Well, it took a little while, and your mom had to calm him down, but he eventually believed me. He kind of liked that I was 'willing to wait.'" I laughed too, then. This would explain the sad _You're leaving us forever!_ looks on their faces. I think they knew, though, that I could take care of myself. And that Seth was also capable of doing so.

My laughter was interrupted by Leah's sudden stealth-attack hug. She and Lorenzo announced their congratulations and joked about how they'd tell everyone who sat on that couch that her little brother had gotten engaged there.

I was distracted again. I leaned into Seth and looked forward to our future days together this summer, and our life together in just a few short years. Okay, I was kidding myself with the patience thing. I had none, but I could get through even a four year long wait, as long as I had him. He brought out the best in me, and made me see the best in others. I was his imprint, and he was just mine.


End file.
